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 School of Business
Former Congressman J.C. Watts, Jr. will present
Vickers Memorial Lecture
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J.C Watts, Jr.
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J.C. Watts, Jr., a distinguished four-term Congressman
from Oklahoma and the highest-ranking African-American
Republican when he left the House, will present the
2004 Vickers Memorial Lecture.
Watts, the author of What Color is a Conservative?
My Life and Politics will discuss Our Nation Today
at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 29 at the Lied Center. The lecture,
offered by the School of Business, is free and open
to the public.
Elected to Congress in 1994, Watts served as chairman
of the House Republican Conference, the fourth-highest
position in the House, which he held for four years.
He was co-chairman of the Republican National Convention
in 2000. He left Congress in 2002 after eight years,
becoming Chairman of the J.C. Watts Companies. Watts
first entered the spotlight when, as quarterback, he
led his Oklahoma Sooners football team to two consecutive
Orange Bowl titles.
As a congressman, Watts earned a solid reputation as
a spokesperson for improving communities, fiscal discipline,
strengthened education and bolstering the national defense.
"The School of Business is pleased to have Congressman
Watts join a long list of distinguished speakers in
the J.A. Vickers, Sr. and Robert F. Vickers, Sr. Memorial
Lecture Series," said William Fuerst, dean of business.
"Watts will be the 36th speaker in the series named
for J.A. Vickers, KU alumnus and founder of Vickers
Petroleum Company, and his son, Robert."
The lecture series began in 1969 and has brought to
KU such notable presenters as George Bush, Sr., Yitzhak
Rabin, Donald Rumsfeld, Supreme Court Justice Sandra
Day O'Connor and Kenneth Star.
The public is invited; the lecture is free and no reservation
is needed. For more information on the Vickers Lecture
Series or the KU School of Business, call (785) 864-7581
or go to www.business.ku.edu.
The Vickers Memorial Lecture Series
In 1969 the Vickers family of Wichita established the
J.A. Vickers, Sr. Memorial Lecture Series. The lecture
series was named in honor of one of the pioneers of
the oil industry in Kansas. It was created to enable
the University to bring prominent people to campus,
"to debate or discuss subjects vital to maintaining
a free political and market society."
J.A. Vickers, Sr. (1890 - 1940) founded Vickers Petroleum
Company, one of the leading integrated independent oil
operations in the mid-continent area. He studied chemistry
at KU from 1914 to 1916, where he also played football
as an end for the Jayhawks.
His son, Robert F. Vickers, Sr. (1934 - 1995) administered
the Vickers Trust from 1961 - 1995, and coordinated
the lecture series for over two decades. His name was
added to the series after his death in 1995, honoring
both father and son.
The Vickers Memorial Lecture Series has brought distinguished
individuals to the University of Kansas such as
George Herbert Walker Bush, 1976
Yitzhak Rabin, 1978
Alexander M. Haig, 1979
Donald Rumsfeld, 1980
Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, 1984
Patrick Buchanan, 1989
Senator Nancy Kassebaum, 1996
and Kenneth Star, 2000.
For more information visit the School
of Business website.
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