Richard Rodriguez, the George Foster Peabody Award winner for his NewsHour essays on American life, will be the final speaker on this year's McGregor Connections Initiative lecture series. The theme for this year was "Dissonance and Harmony" and Rodriguez will address the issues raised in his latest book during his presentation at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday (April 12) in Slayter Auditorium. The lecture, which also is sponsored by the Lilly Lecture Fund, is free and open to the public.

Rodriguez is the author of an autobiographical trilogy on class, ethnicity and race: "Hunger of Memory" 1982, "Days of Obligation: An Argument with my Mexican Father" 1992, and "Brown: The Last Discovery of America" (2002). "Brown" was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award for general nonfiction. In it, Rodriguez reflects on the color brown and the meaning of Hispanics to the life of America today. He argues that America has been brown since its inception -- since the moment the African and the European met within the Indian eye. He is currently working on a book concerned with the ecology of the desert and monotheism.

A contributing editor at New America Media in San Francisco, Rodriguez writes regularly for several newspapers and magazines including Harper's and the Sunday "Opinion" section of the Los Angeles Times. The Peabody Award for his essays on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, recognizes "outstanding achievement in broadcast and cable." He also has received the Frankel Medal from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the International Journalism Award from the World Affairs Council of California.

Calendar Listing:

CALENDAR LISTING: Denison University, Granville -- The McGregor Connections Initiative presents Richard Rodriguez, author of "Brown: The Last Discovery of America"; 11:30 a.m., Thursday (April 12), Slayter Auditorium (200 North Road). Free and open to the public. Call 740-587-6206 to confirm information.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

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Barbara Stambaugh

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Director, Media Relations

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stambaughb@denison.edu

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(740) 587-8575