Matthew McConaughey Great Names Series Appearance Postponed
The planned Great Names series appearance of actor and philanthropist Matthew McConaughey at Hamilton College originally scheduled for Thursday, April 18, has been postponed due to a conflict with filming for a new McConaughey movie.
Organizers are working to reschedule his visit for a date in the fall. A new Great Names guest for April 18 will be announced soon.
A native of Uvalde, Texas, McConaughey is one of Hollywood’s most sought-after leading men. A chance meeting in Austin with casting director and producer Don Phillips led the aspiring actor to director Richard Linklater, who launched McConaughey’s career by casting him the cult classic Dazed and Confused. Since then, McConaughey has won a Best Actor Oscar and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Ron Woodruff in Dallas Buyers Club. He has appeared in over 40 feature films that have grossed over $1 billion, and has become a producer and director.
As a philanthropist, McConaughey and his wife, Camila, founded the just keep livin Foundation, dedicated to empowering high school students by providing them with the tools to lead active lives and make healthy choices for a better future. The foundation implements after-school fitness and wellness programs in 40 inner-city high schools, serving over 3,000 students in 14 cities.
The Foundation also established the Greenlights Grant Initiative to help schools and families across the country access funding from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) as the need to bolster safety measures within schools has never been more apparent, with school shootings on the rise nationwide.
McConaughey earned a film degree from the University of Texas (UT) Austin in 1993, and is currently a professor of practice at UT’s Moody College of Communication. He developed the course’s curriculum, which provides a unique, behind-the-scenes view of each stage of a film’s production.
Also an author, McConaughey wrote the New York Times #1 bestselling book Greenlights which takes readers on a journey of lessons he grappled with throughout his life, reminding us to connect with grace, truth, and the beauty of being alive. In addition, he recently wrote Just Because, a picture book for children with “a soulful and irreverent collection of life lessons that empowers readers, big and small, to celebrate how we are all full of possibility.”
McConaughey is currently the Minister of Culture/M.O.C. for the University of Texas Athletic Department and The Austin FC Soccer Club, where he is part owner.
Great Names
Sacerdote Series
The Sacerdote Series is named in recognition of a significant gift from the family of Alex Sacerdote, a 1994 Hamilton graduate. Other speakers in the series have included Tina Fey, Aretha Franklin, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Derek Jeter, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, Jon Stewart, Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, Jimmy Carter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Lady Margaret Thatcher, Susan Rice, F.W. deKlerk, and David Cameron.
Venus Williams
Legendary tennis champion
Tina Fey
Emmy award-winning writer, actress, and producer
Condoleezza Rice and Susan Rice
Former national security advisors
Neil deGrasse Tyson
American astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium
David Cameron
Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (2010-16)
Derek Jeter
Former New York Yankees captain and five-time World Series champion
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Former Secretary of State
Shirin Ebadi and Bernard Kouchner
Nobel Laureates
Condoleezza Rice
Former Secretary of State
Jon Stewart
Emmy and Peabody Award-winning Comedy Central comedian
Aretha Franklin
Recording Artist and Multiple Grammy Award Winner
Al Gore
45th Vice President of the United States
Tom Brokaw
Broadcast Journalist, Anchor and Managing Editor of NBC Nightly News
Bill Clinton
42nd President of the United States
Madeleine Albright
Secretary of State
Jimmy Carter
39th President of the United States
Desmond Tutu
Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa
Margaret Thatcher
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
B.B. King
Blues Guitarist, Singer and Songwriter
F.W. de Klerk
President of South Africa
Elie Wiesel
Holocaust Survivor, Author and Peace Advocate
James Carville & Mary Matalin
Senior Political Advisor to President Bill Clinton; Deputy Campaign Manager for President George Bush
Colin Powell
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and 65th Secretary of State of the United States
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