Ferguson Center

One of the most important elements of the University Program Council’s offerings was the Emphasis Speakers Series. It provided students with the opportunity to see newsmakers of the day – authors, humorists, pop cultures, show business figures, and more – usually in a more intimate setting such as a ballroom or the theater in Ferguson Center. In the spring of 1975, Emphasis featured a trio of speakers who were becoming well-known on the college circuit. The events were generally, and depending on the speaker drew a mix of people, including students, faculty, and staff, as well as members of the area press. Vaughn Bodē was an eclectic talent, a forward-thinking artist and illustrator, and a contemporary of filmmaker Ralph Bakshi, who directed animated versions of “Lord of the Rings” and “Wizards.” Much like Robert Crumb (“Fritz the Cat”) and his various Head Comix series that featured Mr. Natural and other characters, Bodē also made his name in underground comics where cultivated a significant fan base. His great claim to fame was the Cheech Wizard series of cartoons. Tragically, Bodē died not long after his appearance in Tuscaloosa at the age of 33. Another speaker in the impressive Spring Emphasis line-up was Chip Monck, a somewhat obscure figure but an integral part of the success of the era’s biggest rock shows, including Woodstock, the Monterey Pop Festival, and George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh. Quite simply, Monck was already the Godfather of the world’s greatest rock and roll productions. From Peter Paul and Mary to Chuck Berry, Dizzy Gillespie, Maynard Ferguson, and scores of others, his fingerprints remain on music’s biggest festivals. He talked about events ranging from the Newport Folk Festival when Bob Dylan went electric, The Rolling Stones at California’s Altamont Motor Speedway, and of course, Woodstock, where he was the master of ceremonies and helped change the concert game forever. Ironically, he’d been to Tuscaloosa a few years earlier in 1973 as part of an emergency production team for a Liza Minnelli UA homecoming event (see the fantastic story by Phillip Rawls on this site). Even if people in the audience didn’t know who Monck was before he spoke as part of the Emphasis presentation, they certainly did afterward. Then there was Radu Florescu, a 50-year-old Romanian professor who was an expert on, of all things, Dracula. He was an author who’d written a series of books on the subject. His bestseller “In Search of Dracula,” co-authored with Boston College colleague, Raymond McNally, was published in 1972. Horror fans showed up in droves, with some wearing capes and stage make-up, and enjoyed Florescu and his rather academic presentation.