Michael J. Fox: Always Looking Up; The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist

Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 p.m., Show Me Center

Michael J. Fox charmed audiences around the world as Alex P. Keaton in NBC’s enormously popular “Family Ties,” earning three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe during his seven years on the show. As star and executive producer of ABC’s “Spin City,” he was honored with three Golden Globes, an Emmy Award, three Emmy nominations, a GQ Man-of-the- Year Award, a People’s Choice Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Fox authored the New York Times best seller, Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist, which earned him a Grammy Award, and his 2002 memoir, Lucky Man, which earned a Grammy Award nomination for its audio recording.

Fox also found time to become an international film star, appearing in more than a dozen feature films. Though he would not share the news publicly for another seven years, Fox was diagnosed with young onset Parkinson’s disease in 1991. While he continues to maintain a strong commitment to both his acting and writing careers, he has shifted his primary focus and energies toward The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

Global Entrepreneurship Week

Noon at Glenn Auditorium Robert A. Dempster Hall

Monday, Nov. 14

Karla Bakersmith:  Bringing Fashion to the Healthcare Market

This Southeast graduate is CEO and president of Scrubs & Beyond.

Tuesday, Nov. 15

Clifton L. Taulbert:  Who Owns the Ice House

His memoir, The Last Train North, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and Time magazine recognized him as “one of our nation’s most outstanding emerging entrepreneurs.”

Douglas Wilder: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Dinner

Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 6 p.m., Show Me Center

L. Douglas Wilder became the first elected African-American governor in 1990. He was elected in Virginia, where African-Americans constitute less than 20 percent of the population. Remarkably, four out of five supporters were white, in a state that once denied him admission to its law schools.

Since leaving the governor’s mansion, Wilder remains devoted to social and political causes. He played a vital role in developing the National Slavery Museum in Fredericksburg, and in 2004 launched a successful mayoral bid for Virginia’s capital city, winning with more than 80 percent of the vote.

Throughout his esteemed public service career, Wilder garnered many honors and awards, including the Bronze Star, the NAACP Spingarn Medal, the Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Medallion of Honor and a Citation of Honor for Contributions to American Politics.

Kurt Warner: All Things Possible!

Wednesday, Feb. 29 at 7:30 p.m., Show Me Center

The football narrative of NFL quarterback Kurt Warner reads like a rags-to-riches Hollywood script.  Warner beat the odds to quarterback two perennial doormat franchises to the Super Bowl and etched his name in the record books along the way.

Warner emerged from obscurity to lead the St. Louis Rams to victory in Super Bowl XXXIV. That same year, Warner was named the NFL and Super Bowl MVP. He led the Rams to two additional playoff appearances, including another Super Bowl, and received Pro Bowl honors for three consecutive years.

Injuries forced Warner to the sideline, and he later signed with the Arizona Cardinals. He led the Cardinals to their first ever Super Bowl berth in 2008, was voted to his fourth Pro Bowl and surpassed several Cardinals’ franchise records.

In 2001, Warner and his wife Brenda established the First Things First Foundation, which has compiled an impressive philanthropic resume. Diverse programs raised money for rebuilding efforts after the 2008 Midwest floods, distributed coats in St. Louis, provided scholarships to youth groups for mission trips and fostered an attitude of inclusion for persons with special needs through the CHEER program.

Bill Nye: An Evening with Bill Nye

Tuesday, Aptil 3 at 7:30 p.m., Show Me Center

Bill Nye, scientist, engineer, comedian, author and inventor, is on a mission. His love of science and flair for comedy make science education entertaining and accessible for children and adults alike.

A Cornell-educated flight engineer for Boeing, Nye started in show business by moonlighting in Seattle comedy clubs. He became a writer and performer on the comedy show “Almost Live,” where “Bill Nye the Science Guy” was born. While working on the show, Nye won seven national Emmy Awards for writing, performing and producing. The show went on to win 28 Emmys during its five-year run on syndicated television.

Nye is the author of five children’s books, most recently, Bill Nye’s Great Big Book of Tiny Germs. Nye also lectures at Cornell University.

Tickets: Unless otherwise noted below, tickets are $10 for the public and available at Ticketmaster outlets and the Show Me Center Box Office.  Tickets are free with Redhawks ID at UC 202 and the Show Me Center Box Office.

Tickets for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dinner are $15 and must be purchased in advance at (573) 651-2524 or emaldonado@semo.edu.

Global Entrepreneurship Week events are free.