Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Acclaimed Author, to Speak Here

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

January 27, 2016 (Notre Dame, Ind.) —Saint Mary’s Office of the President, Campus and Community Events, the Office of Multicultural Services, and the Center for Women’s Intercultural Leadership (CWIL) are proud to welcome award-winning author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to campus for a lecture about her life and writing. The event will take place on Thursday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m. in O’Laughlin Auditorium.  Tickets are $8 for the general public, and free to Saint Mary’s students, faculty, and staff (one ticket each).  Tickets are available at the Moreau Box Office, online at MoreauCenter.com, or by phone at (574) 284-4626.

Adichie was born in Nigeria and, at the age of 19, left for the United States for college.  She earned a degree in communication and political science at Eastern Connecticut State University.  After graduating summa cum laude in 2001, she went to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore to earn her master’s degree in creative writing.

During her senior year at Eastern she started working on her first novel, Purple Hibiscus , published in 2003.  Since then she has released two other critically acclaimed novels, Half of a Yellow Sun (2006) and Americanah (2013), and a short story collection, The Thing around Your Neck (2009).  She is the winner of numerous awards and distinctions including the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book (2005), the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007) and a fellowship by the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University (2012).

“Saint Mary’s College is happy and proud to bring Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to our campus and community because her work echoes the values embedded in our mission to empower young women and help them develop the compassion and empathy needed to make a difference in the world,” said Mana Derakhshani, director of the Center for Women’s Intercultural Leadership.

Americanah is this year’s selection for the Saint Mary’s College Alumnae Association’s One Book, One Saint Mary’s program. More information is available at alumnae.saintmarys.edu under “Things to do.”

Adichie’s talk is the second Sister Alma Peter, CSC, Endowed Lecture in the College’s history. Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Nicholas Kristof was the first, in 2010.

About Sister Alma Peter, CSC: Sister M. Alma Peter, CSC, served Saint Mary’s College from 1950-1984. In 1955 she was appointed academic dean, a position she filled for 14 years during a time of expansion and evolution at the College. Sister Alma envisioned and secured new college programs such as foreign study development, establishing the Rome program in 1969. In 1970 Sister Alma became acting president of Saint Mary’s, following the death of President Monsignor John McGrath. She served in that role during the time when the College and the University of Notre Dame were determining whether or not to merge. In November 1971, Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s jointly announced termination of the merger. Sister Alma passed away in March 2008.

About Saint Mary's College: Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Ind., is a four-year, Catholic, residential, women’s liberal arts college offering five bachelor’s degrees and more than 30 major areas of study, such as business, nursing, art, chemistry, and social work. Saint Mary’s College also offers two graduate degrees: a Master of Science and a Doctorate. All programs that fall under these degrees are co-educational and include a Master of Science in Data Science, a Master of Science in Speech Language Pathology, and a Doctorate of Nursing Practice. Founded in 1844 by the Sisters of the Holy Cross, Saint Mary’s College seeks, according to its mission statement, to educate students, develop their talents, and prepare them to make a difference in the world. Saint Mary’s College ranks among the top 100 Best National Liberal Arts Colleges for 2016 published by U.S. News & World Report. Follow Saint Mary's College on Twitter @saintmarys and @saintmarysnews

Contact for News Media: Gwen O’Brien, director of media relations, Saint Mary’s College, gobrien@saintmarys.edu (574) 284-4579

Press release written by media relations intern Taylr Davis ’16.

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