April 10, 2000

Writer A.E. Hotchner - who is also known as Paul Newman's business partner - will be the keynote speaker during Scholars Day, at 4 p.m. on April 12 in Jorgensen Auditorium. He will discuss "Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good."

Members of the University community are invited to attend the ceremony, which honors the University's top students and faculty.

Those recognized during the event will be: Babbidge Scholars, undergraduates who earned a 4.0 grade point average during spring and fall 1999; New England Scholars, those who earned a 3.5 grade point average or higher during spring and fall 1999; University Scholars, talented and highly motivated students selected by the University to pursue accelerated and nontraditional programs of study; and the 1999-2000 University Teaching Fellows.

Hotchner grew up in St. Louis, where he studied at Washington University and received his LL.B. After practicing law for two years, Hotchner entered the Air Force, serving with the Anti-Submarine Command. Four years later, he became a Major.

Hotchner settled in New York City, where, as a free-lance writer, he authored more than 300 articles and short stories for publications including Esquire, Saturday Evening Post, The New York Times and The Reader's Digest. He also wrote a series of distinguished plays for Playhouse 90 during the golden days of television, including prize-winning adaptations of Ernest Hemingway's The Snows of Kilimanjaro, The Killers and The Fifth Column. He wrote the screenplay for Adventures of a Young Man, which starred Paul Newman.

Hotchner wrote about his long-time friendship with Hemingway in Papa Hemingway, a best-seller, and penned biographies of Doris Day and Sophia Loren. His novels The Man Who Lived at the Ritz and Looking for Miracles appeared on television. King of the Hill, a novel about growing up in St. Louis during the Great Depression, was filmed in 1993.

Hotchner's works for the theater include The White House, starring Helen Hayes, and Welcome to the Club, both of which were performed on Broadway.

His business venture with his long-time friend Paul Newman - "Newman's Own" products - generates $10 million of profit annually, which is entirely contributed to charities. These include the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, which he and Newman built in Ashford for children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. They are now sponsoring five other such camps in Florida, New York State, Illinois and in France and Ireland.

Before the Scholars Day ceremony, refreshments will be served from 3-4 p.m. An optional buffet dinner begins at 6 p.m. in Rome Commons. Costs are: adults, $16; children ages 5-12, $10; children under age 4, free. RSVP required. Call: (860) 486-1001

Sherry Fisher