HENDERSON, Tenn. — Nov. 26 — As recent developments have overshadowed the FHU Benefit Dinner’s mission of helping students, Freed-Hardeman University has canceled Dr. Bill Cosby’s appearance and received confirmation that Dr. Ben Carson will speak at the dinner. Carson will address more than 2800 individuals for the dinner’s 50th anniversary Friday, Dec. 5.
FHU President Joe Wiley commented, “I thank our board and administrative team, who have sought wisdom in carrying out this milestone celebration. I appreciate the prayers and encouragement many have offered for those who have been problem solving and handling details behind the scenes. Of course, we are grateful to Dr. Carson for adding this commitment to his busy calendar on short notice. More than 90% of our students receive financial aid, and the scholarships this event funds are a vital component of that aid.”
“As important as this event is to our students,” Wiley continued, “we know that names we have seen in the media represent real people who will be affected long after FHU’s dinner has passed. Please join us in praying for healing and peace for those involved.”
Following dinner, tribute band 1964 will perform Beatles’ songs from the era the Freed-Hardeman Benefit Dinner was established. Carson will then headline the evening and meet sponsors at a reception.
Carson grew up in a single-parent home with a childhood dream of becoming a physician. Dire poverty, poor grades, a horrible temper and low self-esteem appeared to preclude that dream until his mother (with only a third-grade education) challenged her sons to strive for excellence. Young Carson persevered and today is an emeritus professor of neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery and pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He directed pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center for 29 years. His medical career highlights include the first and only successful separation of craniopagus (Siamese) twins joined at the back of the head in 1987 and the first completely successful separation of type-2 vertical craniopagus twins in 1997 in South Africa.
Carson holds more than 60 honorary doctoral degrees and has received hundreds of awards and citations. In 2004 President George W. Bush appointed him to serve on the President’s Council on Bioethics. Carson spoke during the President’s National Prayer Breakfast in 1997 and 2013, and CNN and TIME Magazine named him one of the nation’s 20 foremost physicians and scientists in 2001. That same year, Library of Congress selected him as one of 89 “Living Legends.” He is also the recipient of the 2006 Spingarn Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the NAACP. In February 2008, President Bush presented Carson with the Ford’s Theatre Lincoln Medal at the White House, and in June 2008, Carson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the land. U.S. News & World Report and Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership recognized Carson as one of “America’s Best Leaders” in November 2008.
The award-winning movie “Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story” premiered on TNT Feb. 7, 2009. “Gifted Hands,” “Think Big,” “The Big Picture” and “Take the Risk: Learning to Identify, Choose and Live with Acceptable Risk” were Carson’s first four books. A fifth book, “America The Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made This Nation Great,” was released in early 2012 and made the New York Times Bestseller List in 2013. His sixth book, “One Nation: What We Can All Do To Save America’s Future,” was released May 20, 2014, and also has made the New York Times Bestseller List.
