Comedian Renee Hicks Leads Off Lecture Series


by Anne Dolan

The 1995 campus comedian of the year, Renee Hicks, kicks off 
the 1995-96 Lectures Program with a free show at 8 p.m. 
Friday, Aug. 25, in C. Y. Stephens Auditorium.

Other highlights of the series are talks by author and 
newspaper columnist Molly Ivins, Harvard religious studies 
professor Harvey Cox and former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn 
Elders. 

In recent years, the Lectures Program has launched its 
lecture series each fall with a comedy performance. Hicks, 
named the comedian of the year in February at the Campus 
Entertainment Awards, is known for personalizing her comedy 
act for the schools at which she performs. In addition to her 
live performances, Hicks has been on MTV, several television 
programs, including Two Drink Minimum, Stand-Up Spotlight, 
Evening at the Improv, Uptown Comedy Club, Comedy Club 
Network, Caroline's Comedy Hour and the sitcom Hangin' with 
Mr. Cooper.

In October, the 1995 Women's Week celebration will feature 
Ivins. She will give a talk titled "We've Come a Long Way 
Sister, Now Let's Talk About How Far We've Got to Go" on Oct. 
5. Ivins is a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and 
has written for The New York Times and Time and Newsweek 
magazines. Her two books are Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can 
She? and Nothin' but Good Times Ahead. 

Also during Women's Week, Wilma Mankiller, the first woman 
elected chief of the Cherokee Nation, will speak on the "The 
Changing Role of Native Women" on Oct. 4.

Cox comes to campus in early November as part of the 1995 
Institute on World Affairs, which will look at religions of 
the world.

Elders will discuss what she considers the biggest threats to 
students' health (violence, sexually transmitted diseases and 
substance abuse) during a lecture on 
March 26. Elders served as surgeon general under President 
Clinton for two years.

In addition to Women's Week in October, which celebrates the 
75th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, the Lectures Program 
sponsors the Insect Horror Film Festival (Oct. 13-14), the 
Institute on World Affairs (Nov. 6-9), and the Institute on 
National Affairs (Feb. 5-8, 1996), which this year looks at 
control of the media.

Other lectures will address healing racism in this country 
(Nathan Rutstein, Sept. 28), gender and human rights in Latin 
America (Marjorie Agosin, Oct. 8) and religion in the media 
(Margaret O'Brien, Jan. 29, 1996).

Bernard Rollin, professor of philosophy and physiology and 
biophysics, and director of bioethical planning at Colorado 
State University, will speak on ethical and social issues in 
the genetic engineering of animals on Oct. 10. Rollin has 
completed a book on the topic, which he terms the 
"Frankenstein Syndrome."

Lecture Program events are free and open to the public.

Check the Inside Iowa State calendar for dates, times and 
locations.

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contact:  Anne Dolan, Internal Communications, (515) 294-7065
updated:  8-17-95