Contact: Joy Harkins
805-756-6749
jharkins@calpoly.edu

Bill Strickland Featured in Cal Poly’s Provocative Perspectives Series April 3

SAN LUIS OBISPO ‑ Named “one of the most innovative social enterprise thinkers” by Quincy Jones, Bill Strickland will give a lecture entitled “The Art of Leadership” as part of Cal Poly’s Provocative Perspectives series on April 3, at 8 a.m., in the Vista Grande Café.

Commencing with a free breakfast at 7:30 a.m., Strickland’s talk will focus on his leadership theories, as well as his experience developing programs in Pittsburgh’s low-income communities.

Recently named “Pittsburgher of the Year” by Pittsburgh magazine, Strickland is the president and CEO of Manchester Bidwell Corp., a job training center and community arts program that offers disadvantaged children and adults the opportunities and tools they need to build a better future.

A former board member for the National Endowment for the Arts, he is also the founder of MCG Jazz, which offers educational programs to students, a highly-regarded concert series, and a Grammy Award-winning music label. Strickland’s new book, “Make the Impossible Possible: One Man's Crusade to Inspire Others to Dream Bigger and Achieve the Extraordinary,” was released in December 2007.

Throughout his career, Strickland has been honored with numerous awards for his contribution to the arts and the community, including the Pennsylvania Governor’s Award for Arts Leadership and Service, the MacArthur “genius” Award, and the Coming Up Taller Award, which he received at the White House in 1998 from then first lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The Provocative Perspective series is free and open to the public, however reservations are required and can be made by calling 756-0327, or emailing Liz Cofer at lcofer@calpoly.edu. Persons with disabilities may request accommodations in advance by contacting the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs at 756-1521.

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