News Release
September 2000
(Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania) -- Moravian College will present a timely lecture featuring
Joseph P. Kennedy II, titled, "Beyond Politics: Working Together
to Solve the Problems of the New Millennium," on Thursday, October
19, at 8:00 p.m. This Cohen Arts and Lecture Series program will be
held in Johnston Hall at Moravian College, located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Kennedy will paint a dramatic picture of the need for action by government,
individuals, and the business community to meet the social and economic
challenges of the new century.
Throughout his career, Joseph P. Kennedy II has sought
innovative ways to use the marketplace to address urgent social issues.
At Citizens Energy Corporation, the non-profit company he founded in
1979, Kennedy used a series of oil ventures to finance the purchase
of low cost home heating oil for the poor and elderly. In succeeding
years under his leadership, Citizens Energy capitalized on market opportunities
to lower the price of electricity, natural gas, and prescription drugs
for consumers struggling to make ends meet.
During his 12 years in Congress, Kennedy successfully
sought ways of using the private sector to improve social and economic
conditions in communities suffering disinvestment. His legislative initiatives
included new requirements that banks publicly reveal their lending data.
The disclosure measure led to fundamental changes in the way banks do
business, opening up homeownership opportunities for working-class families
while encouraging others to expand their business base in previously
underserved neighborhoods. Kennedy also created new partnerships between
private investors and affordable housing groups by introducing tax incentives
that have helped create hundreds of thousands of new housing units nationwide.
Since returning full time to Citizens Energy in 1999,
Kennedy has sought to work with state governments and private providers
to use the buying power of low-income consumers to lower the cost of
prescription drugs for the working poor, the elderly, and the uninsured.
He is also working on aggregation strategies to lower the cost of natural
gas and electricity to low-income households.
Kennedy, the eldest son of United States Senator Robert
F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, serves as Chairman and President of Citizens
Energy Corporation, and holds advisory and board positions with a number
of firms in the telecommunications, health care and energy industries.
Joseph Kennedy’s appearance marks the 17th anniversary
of the Cohen series at Moravian College. In past years, the series has
brought to Bethlehem such notables as Ambassador Andrew Young, James
Carville and John Sununu, the New York Philomusica, former President
Jimmy Carter, author Kurt Vonnegut, former governor Mario Cuomo, and
the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra.
The Cohen Arts and Lectures Series at Moravian College
was established in 1984 by Bernard and Bertha Cohen, who were active
in Bethlehem business and community affairs until their 1976 relocation
to Boca Raton, Florida. Bertha Cohen is a 1937 Moravian graduate and
a former member of the college’s board of trustees. Bernard Cohen
is a member of the Lehigh University class of 1936.
Tickets for the lecture are $10 and available at the HUB
desk in the Haupert Union Building, located at the corner of Monocacy
and West Locust streets. Tickets may be purchased by phone during normal
business hours at (610) 861-1336.
Proceeds from the performance benefit the Moravian College
Scholarship Fund. Moravian College is a private, coeducational, selective
liberal arts college located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Tracing its
founding to 1742, it is recognized as America's sixth-oldest college.
For more information call (610) 861-1491 or visit the web site at www.moravian.edu.
