The Bryan Series®

Who will be Next?

Many of our subscribers have commented that Guilford will have a difficult time topping this year's Bryan Series lineup.

On Tuesday, April 14, following Anna Quindlen's talk at War Memorial Auditorium (7:30 p.m.), you can judge for yourself how we did.

Hint: We're pretty excited.

I wrote about speaker selection in this blog and mentioned how important responses to our subscriber survey are to the process.  This year, we received 490 responses--meaning that 60% of our subscription purchasers completed the survey.

From a list of more than 30 possibilities that we offered, here were our subscribers' favorites (listed alphabetically):

David Baldacci 
Robert Ballard
Bill Bryson 
Zbigniew Brzezinski 
Jean-Michel Cousteau
Paul Krugman
Wangari Maathai 
Jon Meacham 
Andrea Mitchell 
P.J. O'Rourke 
Dan Rather 
Charlie Rose 
Scott Simon 
Garry Trudeau 
Fareed Zakaria 

Based on a mountain of data (including subscriber preferences) as well as some instinct, we assembled what we believe to be an excellent combination of programs for 2009-10.  We have timely, provocative speakers you will only hear in the Bryan Series.

We can't wait to share the news with you on April 14.

Find more information about subscription sales here. 

Quindlen on Understanding the Economic Mess

Anna Quindlen is at it again, challenging us to understand the critical issues that impact our daily lives. 

In her latest column for Newsweek, she tackles what she views as the public's ignorance of causes and possible resolutions for the current economic crisis.

She states:  "If the current 'repression' can teach us anything, it's that you can't proceed knowledgeably, in terms of personal finance or political judgment, in an area you don't really know much about ... Sometimes the most useful thing you can do is admit what you don't know, because what you don't know will hurt you."

Thank you, Anna, for the reality check.

See you in two weeks.

Remembering John Hope Franklin

John Hope Franklin was not a Bryan Series speaker, but I wish he had been.

When the 94-year-old historian died March 25 in Durham, America host a national hero, a gifted academic, author of From Slavery to Freedom, a trailblazer for civil rights--a man of, by and for the people.

Guilford's history department sponsored a reading by Dr. Franklin on campus March 6, 2002.  Without doubt, it is one of my fondest memories in eight years at the college.

Before a few hundred people in Dana Auditorium, he read a chapter about his early life from his autobiography-in-progress, later titled Mirror on America, and took questions from the audience.

During the Q&A, in a response that startled the questioner, Dr. Franklin took Woodrow Wilson to task. The only president to earn a doctorate (from Princeton by way of Davidson) and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, Wilson had done nothing, Franklin said, to help the cause of African Americans. As such, he could not count Wilson among our greater presidents.

Dr. Franklin spoke at Guilford to honor his friend, Rembert Patrick, who graduated from the college in 1930 and was a history professor at several universities and president of the Southern Historical Association.  (The next Patrick Lecture is scheduled April 1).

Attempts to arrange a return visit to Greensboro for the Bryan Series in recent years were unsuccessful.  As they say, the window of opportunity had closed. 

On a trip to Washington, D.C., in the mid-1990s, I recall seeing Dr. Franklin walking without fanfare down a street between the capitol and a Senate office building. 

There he was, a man who overcame great challenges to become more accomplished than most.  A man of, by and for the people.

Anna Quindlen Discussion Planned April 5

Guilford College's Friends of the Library will host a discussion entitled "Anna Quindlen and Creative Non-Fiction" Sunday, April 5, from 3-5 p.m. in the gallery of Hege Library on campus.  The event is free and open to the public.

Cynthia Nearman, assistant professor of English and director of the writing program at Guilford, will explore the craft of creative non-fiction (including Quindlen's recent work) and situate it within today's evolving mass media.

Nearman earned her PhD in rhetoric and composition at UNC Greensboro.  In addition to doing research on race and literacy education, she is the nonfiction editor for the literary magazine storySouth.

The Friends of the Library sponsors in discussions in advance of selected Bryan Series events.  Quindlen speaks in this year's series finale Tuesday, April 14, at 7:30 p.m. in War Memorial Auditorium.  Her topic is "Choices and Changes."

Bonus Events?

The Bryan Series has been creating community conversation for 13 years.  When Anna Quindlen visits on April 14, it will be our 33rd program since Thomas Friedman spoke in September 1996.

Four years ago the series was moved from campus to the War Memorial Auditorium in order to give more people an opportunity to enjoy these programs.  Nearly 30,000 tickets have been sold or distributed for the 14 events held at the auditorium, and this year's series is sold out on a subscription basis.

In order to tap the interest in speaker programs locally, diversify the voices in our "community conversation" and draw people to campus, Guilford has presented supplemental programs featuring David Brooks, Richard Leakey and Walter Isaacson--and, yes, Ralph Reed--in Dana Auditorium before an average of 650 people since 2005.

Recently, we decided to expand our reach, presenting the occasional bonus event as an "add-on" to the regular subscription series in a larger venue, and sometimes in another city.  This gives Guilford an opportunity to promote itself to prospective students, regional alumni and others, and shine a spotlight on our signature series.

In February, we presented popular chef Anthony Bourdain in a sold-out show at the new Durham Performing Arts Center.  For those who attended, you know this was a different kind of event.  Bourdain is a rock star to people who enjoy his take on food and travel.  His fans--all 2,500--loved it.  Others found it to be a bit jolting.

We expect to present another bonus program as soon as 2009-10.  Our subscribers will always have the first opportunity to buy tickets, and others who are unable to attend the subscription events (especially when they are sold out) will get a chance to experience the Bryan Series, too.

Make no mistake:  our primary commitment is to presenting the best subscription series possible in Greensboro.  Guilford is based here, the Bryan Series has flourished here, and we look forward to many exciting programs yet to come ... here.

Choosing Speakers

We're about a month away from announcing a very exciting series for 2009-10. Every so often I'll be asked how Guilford goes about choosing Bryan Series speakers.  It's always an interesting question.

The fact is, the process has evolved over time since the series began in 1996, and has become more sophistocated since we "went public" with subscription events at War Memorial Auditorium in 2005.

We learn about and evaluate potential speakers in several ways:

1. We survey our subscribers annually in the fall and have followup focus groups.
2. We maintain strong relationships with six or seven leading speakers agencies who offer lots of suggestions.
3. On behalf of Guilford, I participate in a national consortium of presenters who dialogue regularly.

Oh, and we often preview speakers by attending their events presented by other organizations.

The process for the succeeding year picks up speed after the subscriber survey is conducted (we are at the same time talking with faculty on campus about how speakers tie in to the academic program).  In the survey, we test the popularity of about 30 possible speakers who fit the college's core values.

From the survey results we look carefully at combinations of speakers (possible theme), in addition to the availability (excludes elected officials, generally), affordability (there is a very wide range of fees) and quality of presentation.  Some considerations are based on data and some are judgment calls. 

Once we choose a combination, which can be up to 4 for the subscription package, we make a recommendation to our benefactor, Joe Bryan Jr., and the college president, Kent Chabotar.  Then we go about negotiating contracts that include specific dates and other considerations.  This takes a while.

We want the Bryan Series to be provocative and unique because we believe that's what keeps you coming back.  Given your incredible response to date, we believe we are on the right track.

You are welcome to suggest a speaker at any time, in response to the blog or by e-mailing thebryanseries@guilford.edu.

Anticipating Anna Quindlen

Anna Quindlen, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, is going to put a finishing touch on a remarkable series of lectures in 2008-09.

We started thinking about Anna a couple years ago and found her to be very popular with subscribers, especially those in book clubs.  Boy, does she have a following.

Anna covers a wide range of topics in her books and columns, speaking eloquently about the importance of human relationships, especially in families.

And, as in her latest book, "Good Dog. Stay.," she reminds us of our cherished friendships with animals.  She says, "The life of a good dog is like the life of a good person, only shorter and more compressed."

I hope you will have a chance (if not already) to read one or more of her books before the talk. 

We've asked her to talk with us about "Choices and Changes," given the challenges of today's world and the possibilities that those challenges bring.

This is a new day for our nation and the world in so many ways, and Anna the journalist and author is uniquely qualified to speak to us about it.

PS--We have exciting news to share April 14 about 2009-10 speakers.  More later.