Fauci, Acosta to headline Madison Vision Series event in April

The final Madison Vision Series event of the 2022-23 academic year will feature JMU alumnus and CNN anchor Jim Acosta (’93) and Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the country’s foremost experts on infectious diseases.

During the April 3 town hall at 3:30 p.m. in Wilson Hall, Fauci will be interviewed by Acosta and a student in the College of Health and Behavioral Studies, and also take questions from the audience. The event is free and open to the public. It will also be livestreamed on JMU’s YouTube channel.

Fauci served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 to 2022, during which time he oversaw an extensive portfolio of basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose and treat established infectious diseases. He was a key adviser to seven U.S. presidents and their administrations on global HIV/AIDS issues, and on initiatives to bolster medical and public health preparedness against emerging infectious disease threats, such as pandemic influenza and COVID-19.

Fauci is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Science, the George M. Kober Medal of the Association of American Physicians, the Mary Woodard Lasker Award for Public Service, the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research, the Robert Koch Gold Medal, the Prince Mahidol Award, and the Canada Gairdner Global Health Award.

Acosta is a CNN anchor for weekend programming and the network's chief domestic correspondent, based in Washington, D.C. He previously served as CNN's chief White House correspondent, where he covered the Trump and Obama administrations from the White House and around the world.

Acosta received The National Association of Hispanic Journalists 2017 Presidential Award, the SJSU Journalism School 2018 William Randolph Hearst Foundation Award, and was a part of the CNN team that won an Emmy for their 2012 presidential campaign coverage. In 2019, he was honored with the annual Truth to Power award from the New York Press Club, which is given to individuals “whose body of work challenges the power establishment and/or defends journalists.” His debut book The Enemy of the People: A Dangerous Time to Tell the Truth in America (2019) focuses on his experience covering President Trump during his first two years in office.