FUSCO LECTURE AT SCSU WELCOMES ROBIN ROBERTS

                                                    ROBIN ROBERTS

The picture of charm, charisma and courage, Robin Roberts is visible proof of the power of standing tall and fighting off enemies that attack, in her case two virulent bouts of disease. As a beloved co-anchor on ABC’s Good Morning America television show for over a decade, she has cultivated respect and integrity in all her actions.  She began her career as a sportscaster, because of her history on the basketball and tennis courts, broadcasting for ESPN for fifteen years with the famous catchphrase “Go on with your bad self.”

Thanks to the Annual Louis and Mary Fusco Distinguished Lecture Series, number eighteen, you are invited to get up close and personal with Robin Roberts at SCSU on Friday, May 6 at 7 p.m. at the John Lyman Center for the Performing Arts, Crescent Street, in New Haven.

When her hometown of Pass Christian, Mississippi was especially devastated by Hurricane Katrina, she anchored a series of reports that focused on the region and her personal connections.  With her new co-anchor George Stephanopoulos, she brought the show to the apex of the rating game in 2012 after NBC’s Today Show had taken top honors for the past sixteen years.

Her personal battles with breast cancer in 2007 and again five years later with myelodyplastic syndrome, resulting in her need for a bone marrow transplant, focused national attention on these medical issues.  Her public revelation on her MDS battle led to an incredible increase of 1800% in bone marrow donors in that one day.  Roberts has since shared with her adoring fans her personal relationship with her companion Amber Laign.

When Robin Roberts takes the stage at Lyman Center, she will share the lessons she has learned along life’s path, her conversations with such luminaries as President Barack Obama and Pope Francis at the Vatican, her co-hosting the red carpet Oscar pre-shows, her co-anchoring Good Morning America, her two decades as a broadcaster and her newly formed production company Rock’n Robin in 2014.

In 2013, Reader’s Digest honored her with the vote as the “Most Trusted Person on Television” and she has been awarded numerous distinctions for her devoted work on her personal medical issues and anchoring prowess.  For tickets ($35 premium, $30 regular, $10 SCSU students and $125 for reception, personal meet and greet, autographed book), call SCSU at 203-392-6154 or online at www.SouthernCT.edu.

For lessons in strength and gratitude, from that Steel Magnolia woman from the South, come hear Robin Roberts share what she has learned from life’s often difficult trials and exciting triumphs. Her mother advised her to “make your mess your message” while her philosophy is be inspired and enjoy the journey.