Bollinger to kick off lecture series

By Jeannie Baumann

Daily Staff Reporter

Addressing how freedom of speech fits into the information revolution, University President Lee Bollinger is scheduled to deliver a lecture today at 4 p.m. in the Founders Room of the Alumni Center.

Event Coordinator Dianna Clark, an administrative assistant in the communication studies department, said Bollinger was invited to speak because of his background in Constitutional law.

"His field of research is in the First Amendment," she said.

Bollinger Bollinger served as dean of the Law School from 1987 to 1994 and has taught undergraduate political science courses about the First Amendment.

The communication studies department is hosting the event, which will be the first in the John D. Evans Lecture series.

Evans, a University alum who is sponsoring the lecture series, is scheduled to give a speech later in the semester. He is the chairman and chief executive officer of Evans Telecommunications and co-founded the Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, a nonprofit television company that broadcasts political and government affairs programming.

Evans currently serves on C-SPAN's Board of Directors.

"We want to invite people who are prominent in this burgeoning field to share their insights," Clark said. "It's one of the ways in which the department

is trying to look at the changing role of media in this technological world."

Clark said she hopes the lecture series will eventually grow into a larger conference-style event. "We want to bring in people who are doing research in the area," she said.

The department is currently conducting a search for an adjunct chair to specialize in media technology.

Clark said the position would be a parallel chair position, in addition to current department Chairman Mike Traugott. Evans has also donated the funds for this search.