Update 4:58 p.m. Dec. 4
Due to popular demand, the event has been moved to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, according to the IU Auditorium website. The event will still take place at 4 p.m. Jan. 20.
Original story
Academy-award winning actress Viola Davis will deliver the keynote speech for IU’s Day of Commemoration at 4 p.m. Jan. 20, 2020,in the IU Auditorium.
This university-wide Day of Commemoration will recognize Martin Luther King Jr. and the IU Bicentennial.
Davis is best known for her work in movies such as “The Help” and “Fences” and for the ABC television series “How to Get Away with Murder.”
Davis is the first black actress to win a Triple Crown of Acting, which consists of Oscar, Tony and Emmy awards. She completed this in 2017 when she won the Academy Award for best supporting actress for her performance as Rose in “Fences,” a film adaptation for a Broadway play in which Davis received a 2010 Tony award for best leading actress in a play for the same role. She also received a Golden Globe, Critics' Choice, British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Screen Actors Guild award for this role.
Other awards include her 2015 Primetime Emmy Award for her lead role in “How to Get Away with Murder ” and a 2001 Tony award for best featured actress in a play for her role in "King Hedley II."
In 2012 and 2017 she was selected as one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.
“We are extremely honored and pleased that such an extraordinary actor, activist and philanthropist will join us for this special day of commemoration and historic day for Indiana University,” said IU President Michael McRobbie in a press release.
This is a free, ticketed event. Tickets can be picked up by students now and will be open to the public starting 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4 and can be purchased in the IU Auditorium box office or website. The tickets are first-come, first-serve and there is a limit of two tickets per person.
