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Stanford futurist kicks off President's Speaker Series

Future Monterey Bay; focus of speaker series

“Innovators, upstarts and mythmakers: the deep origins of Silicon Valley” will be the topic addressed by Stanford professor Paul Saffo on Nov. 4, when the President’s Speaker Series returns to Cal State Monterey Bay.

Saffo poses the question: Why does Silicon Valley produce one revolution after another? Conventional wisdom credits big visions, great management and a history of success. Conventional wisdom is wrong, he says. Silicon Valley’s unique edge is built on the rubble of failure, poor management and a crucial third ingredient that leads us to innovate relentlessly against the odds. According to Saffo, that crucial element is inextricably tied to the history of Monterey Bay.

Saffo is a forecaster with more than two decades of experience in helping corporate and government clients understand and respond to the dynamics of large-scale, long-term change. He teaches at Stanford, where he is a consulting associate professor in the School of Engineering, and chairs the Future Studies track at Singularity University. He holds degrees from Harvard College, Cambridge and Stanford universities.

His presentation will start at 3:30 p.m. in the World Theater on Sixth Avenue near A Street. A question-and-answer session and a public reception will follow. Driving directions and a campus map are available here.

Should the theater reach capacity, a live simulcast will be available at the University Center, adjacent to the World Theater.

The community is invited to this free event. No tickets are necessary, but reservations are requested. Please RSVP by calling the World Theater box office at 582-4580, or online.

The theme of this year’s speaker series is “Future Monterey Bay.” During the school year, three speakers will visit campus to address various aspects of the theme.

The speaker series is in keeping with Cal State Monterey Bay’s role as a community resource, providing forums for provocative discussions that can impact thought and action on issues important to our community.