Anderson Cooper to speak at Penn
Television’s favorite silver fox is coming to Penn.
Anderson Cooper will speak at Penn on April 28 in an event brought to Penn by the Social Planning and Events Committee.
From the death of Princess Diana, Hurricane Katrina and the 2008 presidential elections, Cooper has covered many of the most important stories of the past decade. Currently, Cooper is best known for his news show “Anderson Cooper 360.” Cooper’s accomplishments include five Emmy awards and the New York Times bestselling memoir “Dispatches from the Edge.”
No stranger to Penn, Cooper visited in 2008 as the SPEC Connaissance fall speaker. Representatives from SPEC said that when they contacted him, he was very interested in returning as the SPEC Film and Connaissance spring speaker. They added that his supposed friendship with Amy Gutmann certainly helps.
SPEC Connaissance representatives said they hope to ask Cooper to talk about current political issues that have been important to Penn students this year, such as the Ferguson protests and police-civilian relations.
“We think the student body will be interested to hear him talk about what has been happening in the past year politically,” they said, adding, “He’s so experienced we can talk to him about basically anything.”
SPEC began scoping out speakers in the fall by working with agencies before eventually striking a deal with Cooper, a decision that was screened by the University. Their past speakers represent a broad range of experiences and perspectives, such as Henry Kissinger in 2006, Seth Meyers in 2010 and Matthew Perry in 2013.
“We look for people who are going to bring a lot of discourse to campus,” SPEC representatives said of the speaker selection process.
Cooper is the son of artist and designer Gloria Vanderbilt and American author and screenwriter Wyatt Emory Cooper. He received his bachelor of arts from Yale in political science.
The event will take place from 8-9:30 p.m. in Zellerbach Theater. Students can purchase tickets starting at 10 a.m. on April 15, both online and in the Annenberg Box Office. Tickets will cost $5 for Penn students and $10 for members of the public.
SPEC anticipates a great reaction from the student body on announcing Cooper’s return to Penn. “He’s someone who’s really well-known and someone who the student body is going to be really excited to see,” SPEC Connaissance co-director and Wharton junior Victoria Zhao said.
“He is someone they know and someone who will challenge and inspire him at the same time,” SPEC Connaissance co-director and College senior Gabriel Jimenez added.
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