Topic: Speakers

September 12, 2016

John Anderson

ESPN's John Anderson will speak on campus on Oct. 13. He will be part of a fall speaker lineup that also includes entrepreneur Johnny "Cupcakes" Earle and best-selling author Adam Braun.

ESPN’s John Anderson will bring his insights about sports journalism, comedy and entertainment to Ball State University as part of the annual fall speakers series.

He’ll discuss “SportsCenter Stories: Good Stories, Great Writing and Do I Have to Wear Pants?" is at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 13 in Pruis Hall. The talk, the first of the annual David Letterman Distinguished Professional Lecture and Workshop Series, is free and open to the public.

Anderson is an anchor on the Emmy-winning daily studio show “SportsCenter,” ESPN’s flagship sports news program. He joined ESPN in 1999, anchoring ESPNEWS, one of the network’s channels. 

His visit highlights Ball State’s annual lineup of speakers that also includes entrepreneur Johnny “Cupcakes” Earle and Adam Braun, a New York Times best-selling author. The presentations are part of Ball State's Excellence in Leadership Speaker Series.

Other presentations, which are free and open to the public, include:

  • Anand Giridharadas, columnist for The New York Times, and Raisuddin Bhuiyan, will visit campus Sept. 20 to talk about the writing of “The True American,” which was honored in 2014 by The New York Times Book Review as a notable book and Publishers Weekly’s best book of the year. Their Freshman Common Reader presentation is at 7:30 p.m. in Pruis Hall.
  • As the speaker for the John P. McGovern Lecture Series, Deborah Billings has dedicated her career to increasing people’s access to sexual and reproductive health and rights. She was a researcher and activist for two decades in Africa and Latin America and consultant to the World Health Organization. She now directs a South Carolina program focused on creating better access to reliable contraceptives. Her presentation, “Reproductive Rights, Reproductive Justice: Systemic Movement Toward Genuine Contraceptive Access,” is at 7 p.m. Sept. 27 in L.A. Pittenger Student Center Ballroom.
  • Earle founded Johnny Cupcakes, which has grown into a multimillion-dollar, T-shirt brand driven by worldwide collectors. During his presentation, “Kickstarter: Empowering Entrepreneurs,” he will share his story of growing up with a learning disability while starting numerous businesses by the time he was 16. The presentation begins at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 3 in Pruis Hall.
  • Braun is the founder of ”Pencils of Promise,” an organization that has broken ground on more than 300 schools around the world. As one of the nation’s leading speakers about purpose-based leadership and innovation, he has talkedat the White House, United Nations and Clinton Global Initiative. During his presentation, “The Importance of Being a Global Citizen,” Braun will empower audience members to discover their next big idea. The presentation begins at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 17 in Pruis Hall.

By Marc Ransford, Senior Communications Strategist