Community and Government Affairs

2008-2009 Chancellor's Distinguished Speaker Series

Howard Nathaniel Lee, born July 28, 1934, grew up on a sharecropper’s farm in Lithonia, Georgia. He graduated from Bruce High School in 1953. He attended Fort Valley State College in Georgia where he received a BA degree in Sociology in 1959. In August 1959, he was drafted and served two years in the United States Army; spending more than one year in Korea. After being honorably discharged from active duty in 1961, he worked three years as a Juvenile Probation Officer in Savannah, Georgia. In 1964, he enrolled in the graduate School of Social
Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina and received his Master’s Degree in 1966.

In 1969, elected and served three terms (1975) as Mayor of Chapel Hill. In 1976, he was a candidate for Lt. Governor, but lost in a bitter and contentious second primary run-off election. In 1977, Governor Jim Hunt appointed him Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Community Development, a cabinet-level post he held until 1981. Among numerous achievements, he initiated a "Mountains to the Sea Hiking Trail", which stretches from the North Carolina Mountains to the coast.

1966-1975, Lee served as an administrator at Duke University and on the faculty at North Carolina Central University. 1982-1991, he was a member of the School of Social Work faculty at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has lectured at numerous universities throughout the South and Nation. Lee has contributed chapters to several books and has published articles in many professional publications. He has recently released several inspirational writings, entitled: "I Am A Teacher", "Twelve Strategies for Leaders" and "The Black Man’s Journey."

In 1990, Lee was elected to the North Carolina Senate where he served for 13 years. During his tenure he held several powerful committee chairmanships; presiding over education, transportation and Appropriations Committees. In the NC Senate, Lee built his reputation as a fighter for education reform. He fought for higher teacher salaries, increased funding for public and higher education and advocated for raising teacher and student standards. In addition, he sponsored or co-sponsored several major pieces of educational legislation which included Smart Start, More at Four (a Pre-kindergarten program), the Excellent Schools Act for school reform, and the Safe Schools Act.

Howard Lee has been a successful entrepreneur. In addition to his position as Chairman of The NC State Board Education, he is a member of the North Carolina Utilities Commission. His favorite hobbies include golf, tennis, singing, and creative writing. Howard and his wife Lillian, a retired public school teacher, live in Chapel Hill and are the proud parents of three grown children (Angela, Ricky and Karin) and two granddaughters (Jaimie and Jill).

December 4, 2008 6:00 p.m.
Seabrook Auditorium

Chef Jeff Henderson
Food Network Celebrity - Author - Motivational Speaker
Sponsored by Smithfield

Chef Jeff Henderson, 43, grew up in South Central Los Angeles. He is a former drug dealer who spent a decade incarcerated in federal prison. It was in prison that he found his passion - cooking. Once released, he embarked on a career as a chef. Working his way up from dishwasher to line cook, he became the first African American to be named Chef de Cuisine at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and later executive chef at Café Bellagio. His first book Cooked, was a New York Times bestseller and is slated to become a feature film. The Chef Jeff Project, a docu-reality series on the Food Network, debuts in the fall of 2008. Chef Jeff has just recently signed with Fortune 100 company Smithfield Foods as its Community Spokesman.

Jeff has received widespread national attention on numerous TV and radio programs and print publications, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, The Montel Williams Show, CNBC, NPR's All Things Considered, ABC’s “Person of the Week,” People, and USA Today. As a passionate and powerful speaker, Jeff's appearances are in high demand across the country. He lives in Las Vegas with his wife and three children.

November 11, 2008 6:00 p.m.
Seabrook Auditorium

"A Post-Election Discussion with Donna Brazile"

Donna Brazile is one of the most admired and well-known political strategists today. She has worked on every presidential campaign since 1984, making history in 2000 as the first African American to lead a major one. Since running the Gore-Lieberman campaign, she was appointed to serve as chair of the Democratic National Committee’s Voting Rights Institute (VRI), an organization established in 2001 to help protect and promote the rights of all Americans to participate in the political process. She is also the founder and managing director of Brazile and Associates LLC, a public affairs and grassroots advocacy firm based in the District of Columbia. A dynamic speaker represented exclusively by Leading Authorities, Brazile uses her varied and diverse experience to address the current state of affairs, from public policy to the upcoming presidential election, and drives points home with her consummate storytelling ability.

Brazile is the author of Cooking with Grease: Stirring the Pots in American Politics, a memoir about her life in the political lions’ den. She is a nationally syndicated columnist, a weekly contributor and political contributor for CNN, a political consultant for "ABC News", "This Week with George Stephanopoulos", and a regular contributor to NPR’s "Political Corner". In addition, Brazile writes a column for Roll Call newspaper and Ms. Magazine. She co-authored What We Do Now, a collection of essays recalling the 2004 presidential election, with 24 other influential pundits.  

October 14, 2008 6:00 p.m.
Seabrook Auditorium

Roland Martin and Michael Steele
"A Spirited Discussion on Public Policy and Presidential Politics"

Mr. Martin is a commentator for TV One Cable Network, and also host of "The Roland S. Martin Show" on WVON-AM/1690  in Chicago. He can be heard daily from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. He is also a CNN Contributor, appearing on a variety of shows, including "Paula Zahn Now", "Anderson Cooper 360", "Lou Dobbs Tonight," and many others.  Roland has recently acted as the fill-in host for Paula Zahn and hosted a CNN special called "What Would Jesus Really Do?" He is also a contributor for Essence magazine and posts a daily blog on Essence.com. 

An insightful and provocative analyst, Mr. Martin has appeared numerous times on MSNBC, FOX News, Court TV, BET Nightly News, BBC News, National Public Radio, The Word Network, America's Black Forum, American Urban Radio Networks, the Tom Joyner Morning Show, and NPR's News and Notes.

A self-described Lincoln Republican. Michael S. Steele earned a place in history in 2003 when he became the first African-American elected to statewide office in Maryland. His experiences as a successful elected conservative Republican African-American and his engaging speaking style have launched Steele into national prominence. His first major exposure was during an appearance at the 2004 Republican National Convention. Since then President George W. Bush chose Steele to be part of the U.S. delegation to the investiture of Pope Benedict XVI, and Steele has been an entertaining and articulate guest on cable political talk shows such as HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher and Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report.

An expert on political strategy, fund-raising, PACs, and election reform, he is the current Chairman of GOPAC. He has served on the National Federal Election Reform Commission and the NAACP Blue Ribbon Commission on Election Reform. As a senior advisor to GROWpac, he advised House Republican Conference Chairman J.C. Watts (R–OK) on strategic and political issues.