College Relations
Politics, baseball and business at Salem State
August 25, 2004
Jim Glynn at 978-542-7519 or james.glynn@salemstate.edu
SALEM – Topics covering turmoil in the Middle East, friendship on the baseball diamond and business leadership will highlight this season's Salem State College Series.
Entering its 23rd season, the Series will feature New York Times columnist and author Thomas Friedman, author and journalist David Halberstam and business advisors Jack and Suzy Welch.
 On Tuesday, Oct. 19, Friedman, whose publication, "From Beirut to Jerusalem," topped the New York Times bestseller list for a year, will lead off the Series with a lecture on the World in an Age of Terrorism.
As a reporter and columnist, Friedman originally reported for the Times from Beirut and Jerusalem. In 1989 he was transferred to the Washington office where he served as the paper's chief diplomatic correspondent. In 1992 he shifted to domestic politics, covering the Clinton administration.
Winner of three Pulitzer Prizes, Friedman published, "The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization" in 1999 and compiled, "Longitudes and Attitudes: Exploring the World After September 11," a collection of his columns and excerpts from his personal diaries in 2002.
 On Tuesday, April 5, 2005, best selling author David Halberstam, known for his criticism of the Vietnam War, will present a chapter in Boston Red Sox history. His book, "Summer of '49," depicts the epic pennant race between the Yankees and the Red Sox. His novel, "Teammates," is a nostalgic account that portrays the camaraderie of four Red Sox players -- Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, Dominic DiMaggio and Johnny Pesky, a well-known Swampscott resident.
A Pulitzer Prize winner at age 30 for his reports on the Vietnam War, Halberstam has touched on a wide range of subjects -- the media ("The Powers That Be"), the effect of Japan on our global economy ("The Reckoning"), the civil rights movement ("The Children") and the evolution of the war in Vietnam ("The Best and The Brightest").
His last 13 books have all been New York Times bestsellers, and "The Reckoning" was voted "the most important book of the year" in a Wall Street Journal poll. Halberstam's latest national bestsellers is "Firehouse," a chronicle of Manhattan's Engine 40, Ladder 35, that lost 12 of 13 men during the attacks on the World Trade Center.
 On Thursday, May 5, 2005, Jack and Suzy Welch will conclude the Series with a lecture on leadership in business.
Born in Salem, Jack Welch lived much of his life on the North Shore. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts and his master's and doctoral degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois. He began his career with the General Electric Company in 1960 and became the company's CEO in 1981.
During his tenure, GE's market capitalization increased by $400 billion, making it the world's most valuable corporation. In the last half of the 1990s, GE was also consistently voted the most admired company in the world by Fortune magazine and the Financial Times.
Upon retiring from GE in 2001, Welch published his autobiography "Jack – Straight from the Gut," which became an international best seller. He now heads Jack Welch, LLC, where he serves as a consultant to a small group of Fortune 500 CEOs and speaks to businesspeople and students around the world. He is an advisor to the New York City Leadership Academy for the principals of New York City schools.
 Suzy Welch is the former editor of the Harvard Business Review. She attended Harvard University and Harvard Business School. Her professional experience includes several years at Bain & Company, a management consulting firm. She is the writer and editor of numerous books and articles dealing with leadership, change and human resource management issues.
Tickets become available Wednesday, Sept. 1 and can be obtained by calling the Series box office at 978-542-7555 or by visiting www.salemstate.edu/series on the Web.
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