Christine Todd "Christie" Whitman, Republican former governor of New Jersey will speak at Denison University at 8 p.m. on Thursday (Oct. 12) in Swasey Chapel. Her lecture, titled "Inside Politics: American Policy at Home and Abroad," is sponsored by the Babcock Lecture Fund and free and open to the public.

She served as the 50th Governor of New Jersey and as the first female one. Her subsequent resignation stirred her party and led to her becoming a leading spokeswoman for moderate Republicans, founding the "It's My Party Too" political action committee. Whitman is dedicated to environmental causes, encouraging Republicans to reclaim this traditionally liberal issue. She is also an advocate for pro-choice Republicans.

Whitman grew up in Hunterdon County, N.J. and earned a bachelor's degree in government from Wheaton College, Mass., in 1968. Prior to becoming governor, Whitman headed the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and the Somerset County Board of Freeholders. She was sworn in as EPA Administrator on January 31, 2001.

During her terms in office Whitman fought to forge strong partnerships among citizens, government and business to produce measurable environmental results of cleaner air, water and land. She managed to decrease the number of days New Jersey violated the federal one-hour air quality standard for ground level ozone from 45 in 1988 to four in 2000. Whitman also encouraged redevelopment of cities through programs to streamline cleanups of abandoned industrial "brownfield" sites.

The late Mary Elizabeth Babcock, a Denison alumna and Johnstown philanthropist, endowed the Mary Elizabeth Babcock Lectureship in the American Conservative Tradition to "bring prominent conservative speakers to campus and thus interpret the genesis, the philosophical undergirding and policy manifestations of the American conservative heritage." She died June 12, 1998 at age 90. Previous Babcock lecturers include: William F. Buckley, James J. Kirkpatrick, George F. Will, Zabigniew Brzezinski, David R. Gergen, Robert Novak, Rickard "Dick" Thornburgh, Jack Kemp, Judge Robert H. Bork, and Robert Dole.

Calendar Listing:

CALENDAR LISTING: Denison University, Granville -- The Babcock Lecture Fund presents Christine Todd Whitman to speak; 8 p.m., Thursday (Oct. 12), Swasey Chapel. Free and open to the public. Call 740-587-6503 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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(740) 587-8575