WASHINGTON – Howard University President Wayne A. I. Frederick will host a special fireside chat on Monday, Jan. 27 with Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to former President Barack Obama and author of “Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward.”

The event will take place in the School of Business Auditorium at 5 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.

Jarrett was the longest serving senior adviser to President Obama. She oversaw the Offices of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs and chaired the White House Council on Women and Girls. She is currently a senior advisor to the Obama Foundation and a senior distinguished fellow at the University of Chicago Law School.

The Jarrett family has strong ties to Howard University. Her father, James Edward Bowman, Jr., earned undergraduate and medical degrees from Howard University. He also completed a medical internship at Freedmen's Hospital, the forerunner of today’s Howard University Hospital. In addition, Jarrett's grandfather also earned degrees from Howard University as an undergraduate and from the College of Dentistry.  

Jarrett herself was born in Iran where her father sought a better job as a physician than what he could find in segregated America. She grew up in Chicago in the 1960s as racial and gender barriers were being challenged. A single mother stagnating in corporate law, she found her voice in Harold Washington’s historic administration, where she began a remarkable journey, ultimately becoming one of the most visible and influential African-American women of the 21^st century.

Before joining the White House, she served as the chief executive officer of The Habitat Company in Chicago, chairman of the Chicago Transit Board, commissioner of Planning and Development, and deputy chief of staff for Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley.

Jarrett has received numerous awards and honorary degrees, including Time’s “100 Most Influential People.” She received her bachelor’s degree from Stanford University in 1978 and her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1981.

About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Students pursue studies in more than 120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced one Schwarzman Scholar, three Marshall Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 11 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering Fellows and more than 70 Fulbright Scholars. Howard also produces more on-campus African-American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu.

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Media Contact: Sholnn Freeman, sholnn.freeman@howard.edu