The last time Wolf Blitzer spoke at Penn, he praised the expertise of Kathleen Hall Jamieson, then the outgoing dean of the Annenberg School for Communication, at the graduate program's Commencement in 2003.
But tonight, the CNN anchor and Emmy Award-winning journalist will speak at Irvine Auditorium on the issue of integrity in the media as part of the University Honor Council's Integrity Week.
College senior Leslie Schwab, co-chairwoman of the Honor Council, which helped plan the event, said that Blitzer's name kept coming up again and again when brainstorming potential choices for a keynote speaker.
The council wanted to bring him to Penn because he is "well-known, [and] we thought he was a figure of integrity," Schwab said.
Blitzer could not be reached for comment.
All of the tickets for the 1,260 seats available in the auditorium were given out last week. The event will begin at 8 p.m.
"If everyone shows up ... it will be a full event," said Rachel Moskowitz, co-director of the Social Planning and Events Committee's Connaissance arm and a College senior. It was not "difficult to fill the auditorium."
Organizers expect that Blitzer will draw a large crowd.
Honor Council co-Chairwoman Shannon Hedvat agrees. "Blitzer was our top choice, and we feel that he is going to add a lot to the purpose of the entire series of events in Integrity Week," the Engineering junior said. "I believe he will capture the audience's interest."
The goal of bringing him to speak, Schwab added, is "to increase Penn students' awareness about integrity."
While Blitzer will speak mainly on the concept of integrity in the media, Schwab wants to allow him to "have some creative freedom" and speak more on his related personal experiences.
"In terms of being in the media, I think there are a lot of issues that arise in terms of integrity and about being truthful," Moskowitz said. "It's probably difficult and yet rather important to stay as unbiased as possible."
Schwab said it was very easy to work with Blitzer and his agents to bring him here. Overall, "it was a very positive process," she said.
After the speech, a private reception will be held for Blitzer, members of the planning committees and others in the community who have a personal connection to Blitzer.
"He is very excited to come and is really looking forward to being at Penn and learning a little bit more about our school," Schwab said.
The University Honor Council, the Provost's Spotlight Series and SPEC Connaissance worked together to plan the event.
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