Damar Hamlin, Misty Copeland featured in lineup for UB's 2024-25 Distinguished Speaker Series

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- The University at Buffalo revealed the lineup for its 2024-25 Distinguished Speaker Series on Thursday.

The season will feature:

• Jon Meacham, a presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author
• Nadia Murad, a Nobel Laureate, UN Goodwill Ambassador and bestselling author
• Misty Copeland, American Ballet Theatre principal dancer, philanthropist and New York Times bestselling author
• Damar Hamlin, a Buffalo Bills safety whose on-field cardiac arrest and philanthropy that followed it made international headlines

Each event will take place at 7 p.m. in the Center for the Arts' Mainstage Theatre on UB's North Campus.

The series kicks off with Meacham on Wednesday, Oct. 16. The presidential historian has written numerous New York Times bestsellers connected with political history and "has the unique ability to bring history to life and offer historical context to current events and issues impacting our daily lives."

Murad will speak on Thursday, Nov. 14. She is a leader advocate for genocide and sexual violence survivors, whose New York Times bestselling memoir "The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State" depicts a harrowing account of genocide in Iraq. She won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 for her work to end the use of sexual violence in conflict.

On Thursday, Feb. 12, Copeland will be UB's 49th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration keynote speaker. She is the first Black woman to be promoted to principal dancer in the American Ballet Theatre's 75-year history. She has written multiple New York Times bestsellers and her philanthropy work includes being an ambassador for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and heading up the Misty Copeland Foundation, which she launched in 2022.

Hamlin will conclude this season's speaker series on Thursday, March 13. The 26-year-old's journey of resilience and philanthropy following his sudden on-field cardiac arrest in January 2023 has led to major increases in CPR training and AED access around the U.S. The CPR Tour, an initiative put on by his Chasing M's Foundation has trained thousands with life-saving skills and plans to expand to more U.S. cities as well as go international in Europe, Africa and Asia.

Ticket information for the UB Distinguished Speaker Series can be found here. Individual event tickets go on sale Sept. 5.