FOR MORE INFORMATION

CONTACT:  Susie P. Gonzalez

susie.gonzalez@trinity.edu

Oct. 11, 2005

Former Vice Presidential Candidate to Present

Trinity University's Fall Distinguished Lecture

SAN ANTONIO - Former Sen. John Edwards, the Democrat from North Carolina who was the 2004 vice presidential candidate, will inaugurate the 2005-06 Trinity University Distinguished Lecture Series at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 29 in Laurie Auditorium. His talk is titled "America - The Land of Opportunity."

Senator Edwards recently accepted an appointment by the University of North Carolina to direct the school's new Center on Poverty, Work, and Opportunity. The Center will examine and explore practical ideas to move more people from poverty to the middle class.

As the vice presidential candidate on the 2004 Democratic ticket, Senator Edwards voiced a commitment to providing a quality education to all children, combating poverty, and strengthening America's national security. Senator Edwards is remaining active in the Democratic Party.

As a senator from North Carolina, he fought for improving health care and schools, protecting civil liberties, preserving the environment, saving Social Security and Medicare, and reforming the ways campaigns are financed. Elected in 1998 by unseating an incumbent, he served on the Select Committee on Intelligence, working for a strong national defense and supporting homeland security. He also authored key pieces of legislation on cyber, biological, and port security.

He was born in Seneca, S.C. and raised in a small North Carolina town in the Piedmont, where he learned the values of hard work and perseverance from his father, who worked in the textile mills for 36 years, and from his mother, who ran a shop and worked at the post office. Working alongside his father at the mill, he developed a strong belief in the equal opportunity to succeed and be heard.

Senator Edwards was the first person in his family to attend college, graduating with high honors in 1974 from North Carolina State University, and earning a law degree with honors in 1977 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In a law practice that spanned 20 years, Senator Edwards represented families and children just like the ones he grew up with.

He and his wife, Elizabeth, met as law students at Chapel Hill. They have had four children, including Catharine, a student at Princeton University; Emma Claire, 5; and Jack, 3. Their son, Wade, died in 1996.

The Trinity University Distinguished Lecture Series is made possible by an endowment gift from Mr. and Mrs. Walter F. Brown of San Antonio. Mr. Brown is a member of the Trinity University Board of Trustees.

Doors to Laurie Auditorium will open to the public at 6:45 p.m. Audience members are asked to enter through Doors 2 and 6. Trinity faculty, staff, and students may enter through Door 4 as early as 6:30 p.m. with a valid University identification card.

For more information, call the office of public relations at (210) 999-8406.

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© 2006 Trinity University