Renowned journalist to visit the Plains

Renowned journalist Bob Woodruff is coming to the Plains. ABC World News Tonight Correspondent Woodruff, along with CEO of the Bob Woodruff Foundation Anne Marie Dougherty, will be the featured guests of the College of Human Sciences’ IQLA Distinguished Lecture Series on Nov. 15. 

Woodruff’s story is one of near tragedy to triumph, taking a devastating turn of events and using it to lift up the lives of others. In 2006, barely a month after being named co-anchor of ABC World News Tonight, Woodruff was struck by a roadside bomb while reporting on the transfer of power in Iraq. The resulting injuries would change Woodruff’s life forever. After 36 days in a medically induced coma and a year of rehabilitation, Woodruff returned to ABC as a correspondent. His time in the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center inspired Woodruff and his wife, Lee, to create the Bob Woodruff Foundation with the goal of assisting military families as they recover from injuries sustained while serving their country.  

Today, under the leadership of Dougherty and with the support of donors and corporate sponsors, the Bob Woodruff Foundation has invested $165 million into programs assisting veterans and active-duty military families. In 2023 alone, the Woodruff Foundation invested $9 million in 120 programs and services that helped more than 20,000 veterans, service members and military families.

Woodruff is the most recent International Quality of Life Award (IQLA) laureate honored last December at a black-tie gala in the Rainbow Room in New York City. Many members of the Auburn University family attended the sold-out event. The IQLA Distinguished Lecture Series presents an opportunity for students and members of the community to hear the inspiring stories of those honored for using their life’s work to make a significant impact on the world around them.

The College of Human Sciences’ IQLA Lecture Series will take place at 2 p.m., Friday, Nov. 15 in the auditorium at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. The event is free to all who would like to attend. For more information, please contact Director of Communications Kim Hendrix at kimh@auburn.edu.