“Preachers, Presidents, and the 2008 Election” is the title of Oberlin’s next Convocation talk, which will be presented Thursday, November 15 by Michael Duffy ‘80, a TIME magazine editor, and Nancy Gibbs, Editor at Large at TIME. Duffy and Gibbs are co-authors of the recently published The Preacher and the Presidents, an account of Billy Graham’s unique and complex relationship with each of the last 11 American presidents.

All Convocation events take place at 8 p.m. in Finney Chapel and are free and open to the public.

Duffy has been at the center of the magazine’s political coverage for the past 20 years. He has written or co-written more than 40 TIME cover stories, including, most recently, reports on President Bush’s proposed surge plan for Iraq, the Iraq Study Group and an examination of what war with Iran might look like. He is also a regular contributor to TIME.com and PBS's Washington Week with Gwen Ifill.

He served as TIME’s Washington bureau chief from 1997 until 2005, when he was named assistant managing editor. Previously, he was a national political correspondent, and, from 1986 to 1996, covered Congress and both the Bush and Clinton administrations.

Nancy Gibbs was named by the Chicago Tribune as one of the ten best magazine writers in the country and is the author of well over 100 TIME cover stories and regular essays and profiles.

Winner of the National Magazine Award for the black-bordered special issue on September 11, 2001, she covered the last four presidential campaigns, and was the lead TIME writer on virtually every major news event from Oklahoma City to Columbine to Katrina. When the news is quiet, she has focused on stories exploring the intersections of religion, values and politics.

Gibbs is a frequent guest on radio and television talk shows, including the Today show, Good Morning America, the CBS Evening News, Charlie Rose, and has appeared as an essayist on the NewsHour on PBS. 

Oberlin's next Convocation will be a program by Suzan-Lori Parks on Wednesday, February 13, 2008. Named one of TIME magazine’s “100 Innovators for the Next New Wave,” Suzan-Lori Parks is considered one of the most exciting and acclaimed playwrights in American drama today. She is the first African American woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize in Drama for the Broadway hit Topdog/Underdog and is a MacArthur “Genius” Award recipient.

The Oberlin Convocation Series presents free, public discussions of cutting-edge issues by some of the country's most prominent thinkers, under the auspices of the Finney Lecture Committee and the Office of the President.

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