'A Life in the Arts' bringing well known artists, writers to MSU

Contact: Margaret Kovar

A group of nationally known artists, writers and television producers will discuss their careers during a series of presentations March 25 at Mississippi State.

Hosted by the university's College of Architecture, Art and Design, artist William Dunlap, author W. Ralph Eubanks and television producer and author Sam Haskell III will speak during "A Life in the Arts." The event starts at 4:30 p.m. in the Robert and Freda Harrison Auditorium of Giles Hall, home of the college, and is open to the public.

Dunlap, MSU's recently named first artist-in-residence, is a nationally recognized artist from Webster County whose many honors include the Mississippi Arts and Letters Visual Arts Award. His paintings, sculpture and constructions have been featured internationally, and are among collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Lauren Rogers Museum, Mississippi Museum of Art, Ogden Museum of Southern Art and United States embassies around the world.

Eubanks has contributed articles to the Washington Post's Outlook and Style sections, Chicago Tribune, Preservation magazine and National Public Radio. He was honored in 2007 with a Guggenheim Fellowship and already was a Fellow of the New America Foundation. Publishing director at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., his most recent book is "The House at the End of the Road: The Story of Three Generations of an Interracial Family in the American South" (2009, Harper Imprint).

Over a 26-year career, Haskell has earned his ranking among the television industry's best. Originally from Amory, the University of Mississippi graduate went to work in Los Angeles as an agent in the TV variety department of the William Morris Agency, rising over time to become senior vice president, then to West Coast head of television and, in 1999, worldwide head of television. Haskell also is known for his role as executive producer of "Mississippi Rising," a three-hour MSNBC special that raised over $30 million for Hurricane Katrina victims.

For more on the event, contact Lori Neuenfeldt at 662-325-2970 or lpn20@msstate.edu.