April 30, 2001

NBC news anchor Brian Williams will be the keynote speaker at the May 3 public announcement of Campaign UConn, the fund-raising effort to attract substantial private support for the University by 2004.

The campaign kick-off will be at 11 a.m. at the Homer Babbidge Library plaza, followed by a luncheon under tents on the Student Union Mall at noon. Faculty, staff, and the public are invited to both events, which will be moved to the Rome Commons Ballroom if it rains.

Williams, a Connecticut resident, anchors "The News with Brian Williams" on MSNBC and is the permanent substitute anchor for "NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw." He has reported on many news stories of national and international importance, including the death of Princess Diana, the crash of TWA Flight 800, the election of Nelson Mandela in South Africa, the Arafat-Rabin Mideast peace agreement, and the 50th anniversary of the Normandy invasion.

He was chief White House correspondent for NBC News during the Clinton administration and received an Emmy Award for his coverage of the Iowa flood of 1993. He regularly appears on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," and "The Late Show with David Letterman."

The campaign kick-off will be the first time the campaign's financial goal is announced. The aims of the campaign are to increase private funding for faculty support and endowed positions, student scholarships, and University programs. One goal is to triple the number of endowed faculty positions at UConn. The campaign will support the University's drive to be recognized as a Top 25 public research university.

At the May 3 announcement, Williams will join speakers President Philip E. Austin; Board of Trustees Chairman Roger A. Gelfenbien '65; Campaign Steering Committee Chair Denis J. Nayden '76, '77, who is chairman and chief executive officer of GE Capital; Prof. Judy Kelly '73, '78, a member of the Campaign Steering Committee; and student Jennifer Darius, a music major.

After the luncheon, faculty, staff, and the public are invited to attend presentations from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. around campus. An undergraduate student research presentation will be held at the conference room in The University of Connecticut Foundation Inc. building across

from the North Parking Garage. A hands-on experiment will be demonstrated in the chemistry building, and new services and technologies available for faculty and students will be shown at Homer Babbidge Library. A campus tour by bus will begin from the Lodewick Visitors Center.

Faculty and staff who wish to attend the presentations should contact University Events and Campus Relations at (860) 486-1001.

Cindy Weiss