Coach Carter to speak at Stevens October 30

HOBOKEN , N.J. —Ken Carter, better known as Coach Carter from the hit movie “Coach Carter,” will hold a lecture at Stevens Institute of Technology campus on Sunday, Oct. 30 from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. in Canavan Arena inside the Schaefer Center . The event is being held in conjunction with Stevens’ Tech Fest, a week-long event for students, and is open to the entire student body.

The movie, which grossed more than $30 million and was number-one at the time of its release, was based on the real-life story of Carter, the varsity basketball coach at Richmond High School , played by Samuel L. Jackson. To make his undefeated team concentrate on academics, he locked them out of the gymnasium and banned them from any basketball-related activities. He also made them aware that he was prepared to cancel the remainder of the season because 15 of his 45 players were not honoring the contracts Carter mandated they sign at the beginning of the year, which stated that they must meet academic requirements in order to play basketball.

The ban made news around the country and Carter was applauded for his efforts to make sure each individual remained on task, academically.

Carter is an advocate for Richmond 's youth and is active in his community. He is diligent in providing them with opportunities to build meaningful relationships with their peers and caring adults, and recognizes the advantages inherent in a sound sports program. In October, 2000 he announced his plans to travel from Richmond High School to the steps of the California State Capitol in Sacramento . Using only a scooter, Carter traveled for three days to Sacramento hoping to draw awareness to the deteriorating state of the schools and the need for students, parents, teachers and school board officials to commit to making a difference. His efforts proved successful, and Richmond High School received building enhancements and computers from the Office of the Secretary of Education.

Carter is the owner and operator of Prime Time Publications, Prime Time Sports, and is a promising author. He has enjoyed a successful career as a motivational speaker as well, promoting his three basic philosophies of “Five Steps to Career Success,” “Use Your Passion to Succeed” and “What You See is What You Get: How to Visualize and Reach Your Goals.” He also founded the Coach Carter Foundation, which was created to assist youth by providing guidance and instruction in personal development, academics and athletics to improve socio-economic conditions for them and their neighborhoods.

Carter is no longer the head coach at Richmond High School , but he remains active in coaching. He has served as the head coach of the Rumble of the SlamBall league since 2002 and led his team to a world championship in the league’s inaugural season.

Carter attended George Fox University in Oregon . He has received a number of prestigious awards in his lifetime including the Harvard Club's Distinguished Secondary Educator Award, NAACP's Impact Citizen of the Year Award, California State Lottery/Governor Gray Davis' Heroes in Education Award, San Francisco Mayor, Willie Brown's Leadership Award, California's Unsung Heroes Award, the A.N.G. California Boy's Coach of the Year Award, and has been presented with a Proclamation from the City of Richmond. He was honored in 2000 as one of CityFlight newsmagazine's “Ten Most Influential African Americans in the Bay Area” in the sports category.

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.

Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.  

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