John Legend, nine-time Grammy Award winner, multi-talented artist and public education activist, will speak and perform on Monday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m. at Macky Auditorium.
Doors for the event will open at 6:15 p.m. CU-Boulder’s student run Distinguished Speakers Board and Cultural Events Board are co-sponsoring the event. CU-Boulder students can purchase tickets for $5 at the DSB/CEB table, located on the first floor of the University Memorial Center, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Tickets are currently on sale. The most up-to-date ticket information will be available at http://facebook.com/CUdsb and http://macky.colorado.edu.
Legend will speak about issues surrounding the public education system and his work with organizations such as Teach for America, Stand for Children and the Harlem Village Academies. This will be followed by a question and answer session and a solo performance.
“It is very exciting for us to be able to work with the Cultural Events Board to bring a speaker covering very prescient matter, but who is doing so through discussion and music” said Craig Massey, chair of the Distinguished Speakers Board. “With every speaker we hope to inspire discussion on our campus and are confident Mr. Legend will do so. He is a fantastic addition to our diverse history of speakers.”
“We’re incredibly excited about John Legend coming to CU” said Chorissa Karstens, Teach For America’s recruitment manager at CU-Boulder and the University of Arizona. “Since joining Teach For America’s National Board of Directors, he has brought a fresh and important perspective to the movement to end educational inequity in this country, and his dedication to expanding opportunities to students in low-income communities continues to be inspiring. His performance and discussion are surely not to be missed!”
Legend is a musician and activist, known for his signature vocals and songwriting style, which has earned him legions of worldwide fans along with a string of Top 10 platinum-selling albums. His albums Get Lifted (2004), Once Again (2006), and Evolver (2008) each reached #1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop charts. He has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the music industry and has written for numerous artists on bestselling recordings by artists including Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z and Kanye West. Legend also is the national spokesperson for Management Leadership for Tomorrow, a non-profit organization that assists the next generation of minority business leaders. Recently, he was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people.
The CU Boulder Cultural Events Board is a student-run cost center dedicated to filling cultural voids on CU’s campus. The Distinguished Speakers Board is a student-run cost center with the mission to bring the world’s greatest minds to the CU Boulder campus.
For more information about the event contact the Distinguished Speakers Board.