Tom Brokaw to headline Ivy Tech’s 10th annual O’Bannon Institute in April

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 22, 2013

Tom Brokaw to headline Ivy Tech’s 10^th annual O’Bannon Institute in April

Broadcast journalist and author, best known as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, Tom Brokaw, will headline Ivy Tech Community College-Bloomington’s 10^th annual O’Bannon Institute for Community Service. Brokaw headlines the Institute’s fundraising dinner on Thursday, April 11 at the Bloomington Monroe County Convention Center, with proceeds benefiting the Ivy Tech Center for Civic Engagement.

This year’s Institute theme is Building the Next Great Generation and the three-day event will be held April 10-12.

“Ivy Tech-Bloomington is excited to host our annual O’Bannon Institute for Community Service, both because Tom Brokaw is with us, and because it’s our 10^th annual event,” said Chancellor John Whikehart. “It’s a special event this year, bringing focus to Ivy Tech-Bloomington’s 10 years of dedication to our civic engagement goal.”

Brokaw has spent his entire distinguished journalism career with NBC News, beginning in 1966 in the Los Angeles bureau where he covered Ronald Reagan’s first run for public office, the rise of the Sixties counter culture, the assassination of Bobby Kennedy, and the 1968 Presidential campaign. From L.A., he went to Washington to work as White House correspondent during Watergate. Next up was New York where he was appointed anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News. Brokaw took over Meet the Press for the 2008 Presidential campaign when close friend and colleague Tim Russert died.

Brokaw has won every major award in his craft, including Peabody, Duponts, Emmys, and lifetime achievement recognition. He has an impressive list of firsts, including first interview with Mikhail Gorbachev, the first network report on human rights abuses in Tibet accompanied by an exclusive interview with the Dali Lama, and the only American network anchor to report from Berlin the night the Berlin Wall came down. In 1998, Brokaw published his first book, The Greatest Generation, one of the most popular non-fiction books of the 20^th century. His most recent book, The Time of Our Lives, was published in 2012.

The O’Bannon Institute for Community Service, launched 10 years ago by Ivy Tech’s Bloomington campus, is an annual opportunity for the community to come together to discuss topics related to nonprofits, education, and political and civic service. Previous speakers at the Institute include former U.S Senators, Pulitzer Prize-winning authors, governors, political advisers and columnists, a presidential candidate, and former First Lady of the United States Laura W. Bush.

The event has grown from a one-day inaugural event, to the now three-day event. It includes a civic engagement awards ceremony, volunteer service projects in the community, a fundraising dinner, panel discussions, and a final closing conversation.

For tickets to the fundraising dinner with Tom Brokaw, contact Tina Phelps, Assistant to the Chancellor, at (812) 330-6001 or tphelps@ivytech.edu.

Further details about the 10^th annual O’Bannon Institute for Community Service will be posted online as they become available at http://obannon.ivytech.edu.

About Ivy Tech Community College

Ivy Tech Community College (www.ivytech.edu) is the state’s largest public postsecondary institution and the nation’s largest singly accredited statewide community college system serving nearly 200,000 students annually. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana. It serves as the state’s engine of workforce development, offering affordable degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its community along with courses and programs that transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association.

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