Great Minds, Great Conversations: An Evening with Jeff Smulyan

Join us for a discussion with founder and CEO of Emmis Communications, Jeff Smulyan, as he discusses his winding path to success and his newly released book, Never Ride a Rollercoaster Upside Down: The Ups, Downs, and Reinvention of an Entrepreneur. When you’ve owned a Major League Baseball team, started America’s first all sports radio station, created the world’s two largest hip hop radio stations and managed everyone from David Letterman to Ken Griffey Jr. and Don Imus, you’ve seen the rollercoaster ride of an entrepreneur from every side.

Never Ride a Rollercoaster Upside Downdetails Smulyan’s journey: from taking over his cousin’s failing country music radio station and founding his own company, to purchasing and then selling ownership of the Seattle Mariners and guiding his company through the Golden Age of Radio. Alongside his humorous, eventful, and dramatic stories, Smulyan presents valuable pointers and tips—for anyone else brave enough to try their own hand at starting a business.

This discussion will be moderated by Adelphi University Trustee Steve Jones ’89.

Register now to receive the Zoom webinar link.

About the Speakers

Jeffrey H. Smulyan

Jeffrey H. Smulyan serves as founder, CEO and chairman of the board of Emmis Corporation, an Indianapolis-based publicly traded diversified holding company.

Jeff is a former Chairman and current director of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership and a former Chairman of the Radio Advertising Bureau. He was also a former director of the National Association of Broadcasters, and a member of numerous other industry and civic boards and committees. As principal shareholder, he led a group that purchased the Seattle Mariners baseball team in 1989. In 1994, Jeff was named by the White House to head the U.S. Delegation to the Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunications Union. As a U.S. ambassador, he helped negotiate a landmark agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Jeff has been recognized as a Giant of Broadcasting by the Library of American Broadcasting, received the National Association of Broadcasters National Radio Award, and was inducted in the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame and the Indiana Business Hall of Fame. He was also named a Living Legend of Indiana by the Indiana Historical Society. The Broadcasters Foundation honored him with its Golden Mike Award. In 2017, he received the Lowry Mays Excellence in Broadcasting Award from the Broadcasters Foundation of America. Emmis was named one of Fortune Magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For due to its vibrant, collaborative culture. Recently, he was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.

Smulyan’s first book, Never Ride a Rollercoaster Upside Down, was released in December.

Steve Jones

Steve Jones ’89 is president and chief executive officer of Skyview Networks, a broadcast technology and national sales solutions company providing services to national news organizations, professional and collegiate sports organizations, and syndicated radio. He has held senior management positions at the Walt Disney Internet Group and ABC News and has more than a dozen Edward R. Murrow Awards, a Peabody Award, the Ward L. Quaal Leadership Award from the Broadcasters Foundation of America and the First Amendment Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association. A mentor to Adelphi students who has organized annual career events for graduating seniors, he has served as a member of the President’s Advisory Council since 2018. Steve is currently a member of Adelphi University’s Board of Trustees. 

For more information, please contact:

Amy Harrison
harrison@adelphi.edu
516.877.3751