NORMAN – Author J.D. Vance, whose #1 New York Times best-selling book, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, examines the struggles facing America’s working class, will speak at a President’s Associates dinner at the University of Oklahoma on Thursday, March 23. Prior to dinner, Vance will meet with OU students for an informal discussion.

Vance was raised in the Rust Belt city of Middletown, Ohio, and the Appalachian town of Jackson, Kentucky. After high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served in Iraq.

A political contributor for CNN as well as a contributing writer to The New York Times and National Review, Vance has appeared on many television and radio talk shows, including Late Night with Seth Meyers, Anderson Cooper 360, The Michael Smerconish Program, Morning Edition with Steve Inskeep and Your Voice, Your Vote 2016 with Martha Raddatz. He also has been featured as a speaker on TED Talks.

A graduate of The Ohio State University and Yale Law School, Vance currently serves as a principal at a leading Silicon Valley investment firm.

Limited seating is available by reservation for OU students, faculty and staff, with overflow seating available to the public. For reservations, more information and accommodations, please call OU Public Affairs at (405) 325-3784 or email specialevents@ou.edu.