Author, professor and public intellectual Cornel West will be on campus on Wednesday, Feb. 1, to speak and field questions about social justice and civil rights. ¿An Evening with Dr. West,¿ organized by the political science department and University Library as part of the university¿s Intellectual Stimulus Program, is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the University Theatre. Admission is free.

West has written 19 books, including his 1993 classic ¿Race Matters, Democracy Matters¿ and his 2009 memoir, ¿Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud.¿ In addition, he appears frequently as a guest on C-SPAN, CNN, ¿Real Time with Bill Maher¿ and ¿The Colbert Report.¿ He made his film debut in ¿The Matrix Reloaded¿ and ¿The Matrix Revolutions¿ and was a commentator on the official trilogy released in 2004.

¿A fully functional multiracial society cannot be achieved without a sense of history and open, honest dialogue,¿ West has said.

Currently the Class of 1943 University Professor at Princeton, West received his undergraduate degree from Harvard and his master¿s and doctorate from Princeton. He has taught at Union Theological Seminary, Harvard, Yale and the University of Paris, and has announced his return to Union Theological Seminary this summer.

¿With our nation in the midst of continuous political gridlock and economic uncertainty, Dr. West¿s visit to Cal Poly Pomona is timely,¿ says Renford Reese, a political science professor. ¿His lecture will reflect the spirit of the ¿Occupy Wall Street¿ movement and the angst of the nation.¿