SAN ANTONIO --Trinity University will inaugurate Dr. John R. Brazil as its 17^th president on Saturday, Feb. 12, in a ceremony at 2:30 p.m. in the University’s Laurie Auditorium. The theme for the inauguration is "Trinity 2000: Advancing the Legacy of Learning & Leadership." Events leading up to the ceremony will recall the rich history of the 131-year old institution, celebrate its present, and serve as a harbinger of the future. An inaugural symposium titled "Trinity University and the Changing Landscape of Higher Education" will be held on Friday, Feb. 11. Both the inaugural ceremony and the symposium are free and open to the public.

Dr. Brazil assumed the presidency in June 1999 and was the unanimous choice of the Board of Trustees to lead Trinity into the 21^st century.

"Real education, as distinct from training or the mere accumulation of information, grounds us outside ourselves and gives life its greatest value," says Dr. Brazil in reflecting on Trinity’s legacy of learning and leadership. "We can and will at Trinity University balance and integrate the need to make a living with the need to live a life rich in purpose and permeated with meaning."

The inaugural weekend begins with the symposium on Friday, Feb. 11, at 1:30 p.m. in the University’s Stieren Theater. Kathleen Hall Jamieson, dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School of Communication and popular political campaign commentator for network news and National Public Radio, will be the keynote speaker. Her address, "Higher Education: Fostering Citizenship and Civility in High Tech Times," will cover how educators can best prepare students as they become citizens within a society dominated by information technology and confusing media messages. Afterwards, Jamieson will lead a panel discussion focusing on what the future holds for higher education. Selected Trinity professors, a trustee and a member of the senior class will participate in the moderated discussion.

The symposium starts with a presentation by Douglas Brackenridge, Trinity professor of religion, who has been commissioned to write a history of the University. In "A Tale of Three Cities," Brackenridge will trace the evolution of Trinity from a small, denominational institution in Tehuacana and then Waxahachie, Texas to one of the nation’s leading liberal arts and sciences universities.

"Trinity has made its home in San Antonio for more than 50 years," says Dr. Brazil. "I continue to be impressed with how much Trinity and San Antonio mean to one another. As a major contributor to the most valuable resource of any community -- its human capital -- the University looks forward to thriving in and contributing to the city’s well being in 2000 and beyond."

Dr. Brazil came to Trinity from Bradley University where he was president for seven years. Prior to that he was president/chancellor of the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. Dr. Brazil’s area of scholarship is in American studies. He has been published extensively in scholarly journals and currently has two books in progress, Murder and Twenties America and The Twenties on Trial. He earned his A.B. degree in history at Stanford University and his M. Phil. degree and Ph.D. in American studies at Yale University. In 1980 he was a Fulbright senior scholar in English and American studies at the University of Sydney, Australia.

Trinity University, founded in 1869, is a highly selective, professionally oriented liberal arts and sciences institution. This residential, primarily undergraduate university is noted for its superb facilities and undergraduate research opportunities. Through its academic and co-curricular programs, Trinity seeks to develop leaders with high moral and ethical standards. It is a learning community that has charted its course with a steadfast commitment to excellence for more than 130 years.

For more information on the inauguration, contact Sharon Jones Schweitzer or Carolyn Wheat at (210) 999-8406.