Pulitzer Prize Winner, International Philanthropist to Speak Nov 13

AUBURN – Auburn University's Office of International Programs will host Pulitzer Prize-winning and three-time-best-selling author Sheryl WuDunn on Tuesday, Nov. 13, at the Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center.

WuDunn will deliver a lecture at 6 p.m. followed by a reception and book signing beginning around 7:15 p.m. The lecture is the final event in Auburn's Year of East Asia program.

WuDunn is a modern-day Renaissance woman serving as an investment banker, entrepreneur, journalist, author, broadcaster and college lecturer over the course of her professional life. As a New York Times reporter, she became the first Asian-American to win a Pulitzer Prize for her reporting on China's popular movement toward democracy and its subsequent suppression in the late 1980s. While at the Times, she also worked in management roles in the company's strategic planning and circulation departments in addition to becoming the first anchor of the paper's evening news headlines program for a digital cable television channel.

WuDunn's most recent book, "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide," was coauthored with her husband, journalist Nicholas Kristof. The book argues the key to economic progress in developing countries lies in empowering women and unleashing their potential. The book was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Colbert Report, and its notoriety has energized a global movement of the same name to empower women using social media, a PBS documentary series and outreach with non-governmental organizations.

WuDunn's and Kristoff's other two best-selling books are "Thunder from the East" and "China Wakes." Additionally, WuDunn has appeared on programs such as Fox Business News, Charlie Rose, NPR and NBC's Dateline to discuss economic, political, social and philanthropic topics.

For more information about WuDunn's visit, contact Jennifer Mason at jlm0061@auburn.edu or 334-844-5027 or visit www.auburn.edu/international.

Last Updated: November 6, 2012