IN REVIEW MELIORA WEEKEND 2018 Set Your Calendar for Meliora Weekend Award-winning journalists, authors, analysts, and musicians headline the lineup for Meliora Weekend 2018. By Kristine Thompson company, O’Brien is known for telling stories about pressing social and global issues. She also anchors and Soledad O’Brien, award-winning journalist, speaker, and author, produces the Hearst Television political magazine pro- will be the keynote speaker for Meliora Weekend, one of several gram Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien and reports acclaimed guests scheduled for the 18th edition of the four-day regularly for HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel celebration in October. and PBS NewsHour. O’Brien headlines a lineup that includes Pulitzer Prize– In addition to appearing as an anchor or contribu- winning author Ron Chernow, former Republican National Com- tor on major networks, she is philanthropy editor of mittee Chair Michael Steele, comedian Nasim Pedrad, and the Worth magazine, and is a frequent author of op-eds for genre-hopping musical ensemble Pink Martini. the New York Daily News and the Huffington Post. She The weekend kicks off Thursday, October 4, and continues is also the author of two books: her memoir, The Next through Sunday, October 7. Big Story, and Latino in America. In 2011, O’Brien and “Over the last three years, we have redesigned Meliora Weekend her husband, Brad Raymond, created the PowHERful to make it more fun and social while keeping true to the academic Foundation, an organization to help young women get and intellectual traditions that in many ways define the Universi- to and through college. ty of Rochester,” says Thomas Farrell ’88, ’90W (MS), senior vice Conversations president for University Advancement. Michael Steele University Symposium Saturday, October 6 Ron Chernow When he was elected lieutenant governor of Mary- Friday, October 5 land in 2003, Steele made history as the first African Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Alexander Hamilton, Chernow American elected to statewide office. He made history will talk about Grant, his New York Times best-selling biography again in 2009 with his chairmanship of the Republi- of President Ulysses S. Grant. The book is the latest of his biog- can National Committee. Currently, Steele is president raphies of pivotal people and families in American history. and CEO of The Steele Group, cohost of the Steele & His life of founding statesman Alexander Hamilton in- Ungar radio show, and a political commentator spired the Tony Award–winning musical Hamilton. for MSNBC. He has been a frequent contrib- A frequent contributor to the New York Times and utor on the Fox News Channel and a guest the Wall Street Journal, he received a Pulitzer on Meet the Press and Face the Nation, among other Prize for Washington: A Life, his biography of news programs. His writing on law, business, and George Washington. politics has appeared in such major media outlets as the Wall Street Journal, Politico.com, and BET.com. Eastman Presents Pink Martini Comedy Friday, October 5 Nasim Pedrad Drawing inspiration from music from all Saturday, October 6 over the world and crossing genres of Nasim Pedrad, best known for her work classical, jazz, and old-fashioned on , will provide the pop, Pink Martini features a doz- laughs during an interactive comedy en musicians who perform a mul- show. Joining SNL in 2009, Pedrad was tilingual repertoire. a cast member for five years. Her recent television credits include appearances Keynote on the FOX series , TBS’s Peo- Soledad O’Brien ple of Earth, and the 2017 return of HBO’s Saturday, October 6 comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm. She is now As CEO of Starfish Media Group, filming Disney’s live action remake of Alad- a multiplatform media production din, set to hit theaters in 2019.r Get Ready to Register KEYNOTE CAREER: Television anchor, Registration will begin at noon on Wednesday, July producer, and writer Soledad O’Brien, who is also the CEO of 25. For more, visit Rochester.edu/melioraweekend. her own multiplatform media Email [email protected] or call 877.MELIORA company, will deliver the (877.635.4672). The website will be updated as more keynote address at this year’s information about guests and other programming Meliora Weekend in October. becomes available.

18 ROCHESTER REVIEW May–June 2018 FRAN ROBERTS (O’BRIEN)

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HISTORIC FIGURES: Author MUSIC & LAUGHTER: The genre-hopping Ron Chernow, whose work musical ensemble Pink Martini (above), has included biographies whose repertoire crosses jazz, classical, and of Ulysses S. Grant, George pop music, will headline the annual Eastman Washington, Alexander Presents concert, and Saturday Night Live Hamilton, and other pivotal alumna Nasim Pedrad (below) will present an American figures and interactive comedy show during the weekend. families, will be the guest for this fall’s University Symposium.

MEDIA MOVERS: Michael Steele, the firstA frican American to chair the Republican National Committee and now a nationally syndicated political commentator, will be a featured speaker as part of the weekend’s events.

COURTESY OF SUBJECTS (PINK MARTINI AND PEDRAD); BEOWULF SHEEHAN (CHERNOW); WILLIAM B. PLOWMAN/NBC/NBC NEWSWIRE VIA GETTY IMAGES (STEELE) May–June 2018 ROCHESTER REVIEW 19

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