Scarborough, who spoke at the Blackburn Institute Symposium in 1997, was chosen to return this year because he is a UA alumnus and prominent national figure, Landon Nichols, student chairman for the Blackburn Institute, said.
“He has a good working relationship with the University and with the institute,” Nichols said. “He is such a prominent figure in national media now that we thought it would be a great time to bring him back to Alabama and talk about some of the things that have transpired on the national scene in the last ?10 years.”
Velmatsu Lewis, Blackburn Institute vice chairman, said Blackburn students are very excited to hear from ?Joe Scarborough.
“Having a UA grad of his magnitude return to his alma mater and speak to current students is very inspiring,” Lewis said.
The lecture on Friday is the only Blackburn event open to all UA students and the local community. Everyone is encouraged to attend, Nichols said.
“This lecture would definitely open your eyes into the inter-workings of the national media, how stories are chosen and reported on, and what effect that reporting has on how the stories play out,” Nichols said. “I think Joe is really going to paint a great picture of how media reports tie into making news, as well as covering it, and how journalism has changed in the past 10 to 20 years.”
Scarborough came to The University of Alabama as an out-of-state student but has kept ties to the state of Alabama, Mary Lee Caldwell, assistant director of the Blackburn Institute, said.
“Going to school here exposed him to what the state has to offer,” Caldwell said.
Founded in 1994, the Blackburn Institute is a leadership organization and accepts 25 new members each year. The Institute was founded in honor of John L. Blackburn, a pioneering Student Affairs professional here on campus.
Nichols said Blackburn was instrumental in the peaceful integration of the University in 1963 and his legacy lives on through the Institute.
Caldwell said the Institute really wanted to focus on the roots of the organization and make sure the celebration was grounded in the mission of the Blackburn Institute.
“In that, the state of Alabama has a great deal of importance to the Institute,” she said.
