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Loyola’s Institute of Politics Hosts A Conversation with Steven V. Roberts

By Loyola University on Thu, 03/10/2022 - 14:59

As he unveils his new book, Roberts remembers Cokie, his wife of 53 years

(New Orleans – March 10, 2022) In conjunction with the Tulane Book Festival, the Institute of Politics at Loyola University New Orleans welcomes journalist Steven V. Roberts as guest speaker for its 14th annual Renwick Lecture. The event is free and open to the public. Please join the Loyola community in the university's Nunemaker Auditorium at 7 p.m., on Wednesday, March 16.

Roberts, who serves as J.B. and M.C. Shapiro Professor at George Washington University. will discuss his new book Cokie: A Life Well Lived, about a pioneering woman in journalism, who brought unique humanity, humor, and strength to her craft at NPR and ABC News. Roberts, Cokie's husband of 53 years, will be joined by Loyola President Tania Tetlow for this extraordinary conversation. 

Roberts is just one member of the Loyola family participating in the Tulane Book Festival, which runs Thursday through Saturday, March 17-19. You can find the full schedule and author profiles here.

An Exciting Line-Up

The Tulane Book Festival is jointly hosted by and Cheryl Landrieu, a cherished alumna of the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law and longtime friend of the university.

Together with powerful leaders Donna Brazile, Katherine Gehl, and Mary Matalin, President Tania Tetlow will serve on a panel about Women's Success and Challenges in Business and Politics moderated by Betsy Fischer-Marin.

Jason Berry, author of and director of the award-winning documentary film “City of a Million Dreams: A History of New Orleans at 300,” began his college career at Loyola in 1967.

Edgar Chase IV, a well-known New Orleans chef and proprietor of Dooky Chase Restaurant and Dook’s Place, is the son of Loyola trustee and 2022 Integritas Vitae Award winner Edgar “Dooky” Chase, III, and the grandson of honorary degree recipient the late Leah Chase and her late husband Dooky Chase.

James Gill, a longtime Times-Picayune columnist and author of the Lords of Misrule, a book on Carnival, and the 2021 book, Tearing Down the Lost Cause, is a graduate of Loyola’s Institute of Politics.

Mitch Landrieu J.D. ’85, H’05, is both a graduate of Loyola University New Orleans and Loyola’s College of Law, as well as a former trustee of the university.

Nancy Lemann, author of Lives of the Saints, Ritz of the Bayou, Sportsman’s Paradise, Malaise and other novels, is a friend and frequent guest of the university.

Robert W. Livingston, one of the nation’s foremost experts in bias and racism, has spoken at panels jointly hosted by Tulane Law School and the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. 

Melissa Martin, top-flight chef and co-owner of the Mosquito Supper Club, is a graduate of Loyola.

Mary Matalin, political consultant and best-selling author of All’s Fair in Love and Politics and, is a former member of the Loyola Board of Trustees.

Jon Meacham was the commencement speaker for Loyola’s 100th graduating class, the Class of 2012, and received an honorary degree from Loyola. 

Tom Piazza  has been the Visiting Writer in Residence at Loyola University.

Renowned anti-death penalty expert and community activist Sister Helen Prejean received an honorary degree from the university in 2005 and has been a frequent speaker at Loyola.

Lawrence Powell, a retired historian, Tulane professor and expert in southern history, race relations, and Holocaust studies, is a friend of the university and has spoken at Loyola. 

Maurice Carlos Ruffin, author of We Cast a Shadow, is a graduate of the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. 

Clint Smith,, a writer for the Atlantic, New Orleans native, and author of “How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America,” will speak Friday in Loyola’s Nunemaker Auditorium, as the first guest in the School of Communication and Design’s Conversations lecture series.