Keynote Speaker Profile:
Education

Maya Angelou
Reynolds Professor of American Studies
Wake Forest University

[The text of Maya Angelou's keynote is not available at her request]

Maya Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Her early career focused on drama and dance, and included a tour of Europe in a production of Porgy and Bess. In the early 1960s, Ms. Angelou lived in Egypt where she was associate editor of The Arab Observer in Cairo. During that period of her career, she was also associated with the School of Drama and Dance at the University of Ghana.

Returning to the United States, Ms. Angelou became the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference led by Martin Luther King, Jr. She served on the American Bicentennial Commission and the National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year. She has taught at several universities including the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of Kansas. She currently holds the lifetime chair as Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University. Among her many academic honors are a Yale University Fellowship and being named a Rockefeller Foundation Scholar in Italy.

Although a poet and dramatist, Ms. Angelou is dedicated to the art of biography. She has written five biographical works, the first of which is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. The book was nominated for the National Book Award. Her books are widely read and taught at schools and universities today.

In 1993, Ms. Angelou became the second poet to be invited to speak at a Presidential inauguration. Her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" directed national attention to the human failings pervading American history and a renewed national commitment to unity and social improvement.

Maya Angelou is an ambassador to people worldwide, sharing lessons on the human spirit, and what each of us can strive toward, fail at, endure, and still survive. She is an advocate for the betterment and education of all, encouraging us to surpass our potential, both as individuals and as communities of people.