Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Elie Wiesel will speak at Kent State University in April as part of the university's Presidential Speaker Series.
Wiesel, a Boston University professor, will speak April 11 at 7 p.m. in the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center.
Kent State President Lester Lefton said the university is expecting thousands of people from across the region to attend.
"Anyone who’s heard Elie Wiesel speak before knows he’s just a profound speaker — a life changer," Lefton said.
The author of the world renowned memoir Night wrote the piece about his experiences during World War II and the loss of his family to German death camps.
Wiesel was born in 1928 in Sighet, Transylvania, which is now part of Romania, and was just 15 when he and his family were deported by Nazis to Auschwitz, according to his biography. His mother and younger sister died at the concentration camp in occupied Poland but his two older sisters survived. Wiesel and his father were transported to Buchenwald, where his father died days before the camp was liberated in April 1945.
Tickets for Wiesel's appearance at Kent State go on sale starting online Friday via www.kent.edu/ElieWiesel.
Tickets are $50 for preferred seating, $20 for general admission, $15 for group tickets of 10 or more, and $10 for Kent State faculty and staff (one ticket at $10, then additional tickets at the general admission price).
There are 1,500 free tickets available to Kent State students (one ticket per student) on a first-come basis. After the first 1,500 free tickets are gone, Kent State students pay $10 for one ticket and the general admission price for additional tickets.
The Kent State Presidential Speaker Series seeks to bring high-profile, world-renowned experts to Kent State for serious, thought-provoking discussions and conversations. The new program enhances the engagement of the world beyond Kent State’s campuses, which is one of the university’s strategic goals.
"Professor Wiesel is a true humanitarian and peace advocate who has impacted our world for most of his life through his works, writings and commitment to the plights of the oppressed," Lefton said. "Having a man of his caliber, who has achieved much for humanity, at Kent State is indeed an honor, and so I invite all members of our community to come and learn from what promises to be a thought-provoking session."
