Pulitzer Prize Co-winner, Author Part of A&M Inauguration Celebration

Andres Oppenheimer, Pulitzer Prize co-winner and acclaimed author, will be presented in a special guest lecture that is part of Texas A&M International University's Inauguration Celebration for new President Dr. J. Charles Jennett.

The Oppenheimer Lecture will take place Friday, Nov. 1 at 6:30 p.m. in The Great Room of the Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library. The lecture is hosted by the College of Arts and Humanities. It is free of charge and open to the public.

Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, Dr. Jerry Thompson, said the College is honored to have Oppenheimer present as part of the special events planned for the University's inauguration of President Jennett.

"Oppenheimer is considered by many to be the most respected journalist currently reporting on Latin American affairs. It seems most appropriate that our University, with its international focus on education, have him present as part of our Inauguration Week observance," Dr. Thompson said.

Prior to his appearance at A&M International, Oppenheimer will participate at a book-signing at BookMark Books from 3-5 p.m.

In 1987 Oppenheimer shared the Pulitzer Prize for reporting that helped uncover the Iran-Contra scandal. He is the author of Castro's Final Hour (Simon and Shuster) and Bordering on Chaos: Guerrillas, Stockbrokers, Politicians and Mexico's Road to Prosperity (Little, Brown and Company).

Castro's Final Hours offers an eyewitness account of the disintegration of Castro's Cuba and has been called the most definitive book on Cuba in the past decade. Reviewers have said the book offers a compelling and intimate portrait of the Cuban leader and an authoritative evaluation of what the future may hold for his country.

Since its release earlier this year, Bordering on Chaos: Guerrillas, Stockbrokers, Politicians and Mexico's Road to Prosperity has been called "exhaustive in its research...reporting is solid and engrossing" by Time Magazine and has become a runaway bestseller.

In writing the book, Oppenheimer enjoyed unparalleled access to secret government documents and interviews with key players, including guerilla leader Subcommander Marcos, President Ernesto Zedillo and former president Carlos Salinas.

The acclaimed book explores the story behind the 1994 Zapatista uprising, the assassinations of ruling party presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio and general secretary Jose Francisco Ruiz Massieu, the collapse of Mexico's economy and the US economic bailout.

Oppenheimer is the senior Latin American correspondent for the Miami Herald. He lives in Mexico City and Miami.

For additional information on the Oppenheimer Lecture, part of the Inauguration Celebration at Texas A&M International University, contact the Office of Public Affairs at 210. 326. 2180.

A&M International University office hours are from 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Recorded information about Inauguration Celebration activities is available by calling 326. 2171.