Brooks, Oher to Speak at UT Martin

Harvard professor and best-selling author Dr. Arthur C. Brooks and Michael Oher, the former Tennessee Titan and member of the Baltimore Ravens team that won Super Bowl XLVII, are coming to the University of Tennessee at Martin on Wednesday, Aug. 28, to speak to students and the public.

The event is sponsored by the Institute of American Civics and the University of Tennessee at Martin.

Brooks and Oher will have a meet-and-greet session at 11 a.m. in Room 206 of the Boling University Center with a select group of university, faculty, staff and student administrators as well as media members. The opening 25 minutes will feature remarks from the two speakers, and the floor will then be opened for questions for 20 minutes.

At noon, the two will speak in the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center to UT Martin students, with Oher making introductory remarks for Brooks, who will deliver a traditional keynote speech called “Build the Life You Want.”

Brooks will speak to the public at 2:30 p.m. in Watkins Auditorium in the Boling University Center, where the keynote address will be “Love Your Enemies.” This session is open to all faculty, staff and community members. Admission is free for this session.

Brooks is a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Harvard Business School, where he teaches courses on leadership and happiness. He is also a columnist at The Atlantic, where he writes the popular weekly “How to Build a Life” column.

Brooks is the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of 13 books, including “Build the Life You Want” – co-authored with Oprah Winfrey in 2023 – and “From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life.”

Brooks is one of the world’s leading experts on the science of human happiness, appearing in the media and traveling the world to teach people in private companies, universities, public agencies and faith communities how they can live happier lives and bring greater well-being to others.

Outside of his NFL career, Oher is best known as the subject of the movie “The Blind Side,” which is about his experience in overcoming economic, academic and life challenges to play football for the University of Mississippi and then at the professional level.

With his personal experience of poverty and homelessness, Oher now dedicates his life to supporting disadvantaged youth through his charity, the Oher Foundation, which empowers youth with opportunities in education, mentorship and community support.

Oher was able to navigate the hardships of life as a foster kid who went from the streets of Memphis all the way to the NFL. He became a two-time all-American at the University of Mississippi and led the Baltimore Ravens to victory in Super Bowl XLVII.

After an eight-year NFL career, Oher now focuses on his foundation, which is based in Nashville. His inspiring story is detailed in the New York Times best-selling books “I Beat The Odds: From Homelessness To The Blind Side and Beyond” and “When Our Back’s Against the Wall: Fame, Football, and Lessons Learned through a Lifetime of Adversity.”

For more information about Brooks, visit arthurbrooks.com.

For more information about the Oher Foundation, visit oherfoundation.org.