'Orange is the New Black' star, two others to visit campus for speaker series


enter_tvcox_pd
Laverne Cox on stage during the 59th Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017 in Los Angeles. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

Laverne Cox, star of "Orange is the New Black" and an equal rights advocate, is one of three speakers who will visit Mount Pleasant in April for the 2017 Central Michigan University Speaker Series.

Cox plays Sophia Burset on the Netflix series. She will speak at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 24 in Finch Fieldhouse. "Project Runway" co-host Tim Gunn and Girls on the Run founder Molly Barker will round out the series, according to a CMU press release.

Gunn will speak at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 22 and Barker at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 25. All events will take place in Finch Fieldhouse. Each of the three events is free and open to the public.

Cox is the first transgender woman of color to have a leading role on a mainstream television show. She was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for her role on the show. In 2014, Glamour magazine named her one of its Women of the Year.

Gunn won a 2013 Primetime Emmy Award with "Project Runway" co-host Heidi Klum forOutstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program. Gunn will be on campus for the annual Threads fashion show, which also takes place on April 22. He spent 29 years at Parsons School of Design.

Barker founded The Red Book Coalition, which seeks to spread the message of compassionate listening. She started Girls on the Run in 1996, which helps young girls "embrace their individual strengths and successfully navigate life's experiences." She has been recognized by former U.S. presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Runner's World named herone of the "Top 50 Most Influential People in Running" in 2015.

Share: 

About Evan Sasiela

Evan Sasiela is the University Editor at Central Michigan Life and a senior at Central Michigan ...

View Posts by Evan Sasiela →