6:15 p.m. | Tuesday, April 17 & Wednesday, April 18
(Leavenworth, Kan.)—The University of Saint Mary hosts "Celebrity Influence: Politics, Persuasion, and Issue-Based Advocacy" with USM's Dr. Mark Harvey on Tuesday, April 17 at 6:15 p.m. on USM's Leavenworth Campus, 4100 South 4th Street and Wednesday, April 18 at 6:15 p.m. on USM's Overland Park Campus, 4500 College Boulevard.
Both evening presentations are free and open to the public.
Dr. Harvey, USM's director of graduate and undergraduate business programs at Overland Park, will discuss celebrity advocacy in an attempt to determine the nature of celebrity influence, and the source and extent of its power. Focusing on two specific kinds of power—the ability to "spotlight" issues in the media and to persuade audiences—Dr. Harvey will detail recent case studies demonstrating what can happen when celebrities advocate on political issues.
"For quite some time, the media has been virtually obsessed with every celebrity advocating a pet cause," explained Dr. Harvey. "Now, we have a reality show star who rode his pet cause—questioning the citizenship of a sitting president—all the way to the White House. If there was ever a clear separation between politics and entertainment, that wall has been shattered."
With over 20 years of experience in higher education—teaching at the University of Birmingham, London School of Economics, Duke University, the University of Kansas, among others—Dr. Harvey is also the author of "Celebrity Influence" (University Press of Kansas), the inspiration for his talk. Along with his book authorship, he has published articles on human rights, economic development, democratization, the politics of innovation in the music industry, the politics of sports, and virtual learning teams in the online classroom. Dr. Harvey has ongoing projects on celebrity and media coverage in the 2016 campaign, the effect of music on perceptions of political candidates and issues, and the use of games and simulations to teach classroom concepts.
For more information on the event, visit stmary.edu/Celebrity, or contact Dr. Harvey at Harvey696@stmary.edu.
The University of Saint Mary is a Catholic co-educational applied liberal arts university founded and sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth. The University of Saint Mary main campus is located at 4100 South 4th Street, Leavenworth, Kan. USM's Overland Park Campus at 4500 College Boulevard offers evening accelerated graduate and undergraduate degree-completion programs. The university also offers online programs. Visit stmary.edu for more information.