Tatangelo to Offer View on Leading Change for CSWHT Conference Kick-Off April 23

Former Laredo Mayor Aldo Tatangelo will help to initiate the 8th Annual Academic Conference of Texas A&M International University's Center for the Study of Western Hemispheric Trade (CSWHT) with a special presentation on Wednesday, April 23, 2003 from 6-7 p.m. in Western Hemispheric Trade Center room 116.

Tatangelo, who enjoyed a 12-year tenure as Laredo's mayor from 1978-1990, will present "Leading Change in Laredo." The presentation is free of charge and open to the public.

The son of Italian immigrants, the Rhode Island native graduated from Brighton and Stratton there, enlisted in the Navy and after his return opened an eyeglass manufacturing plant in Mexico City.

He came to Laredo in 1963 and began to establish businesses and became involved in the life of the community, eventually entering the political arena in 1978 when then-Mayor J. C. Martin did not seek a seventh term.

Tatangelo won the election. His legacy includes the paving of Laredo's streets, establishment of a pension plan for city employees, a reorganization of the city's street department, establishment of a parks and recreation department, and the promotion of affordable housing for low-income families.

His lecture will serve to launch the CSWHT's 8th Annual Academic Conference.

The Conference will attract researchers from throughout the U.S., Mexico and Brazil. It will offer participants and presenters an opportunity to closely analyze contemporary forces in the Western Hemisphere in respect to the development of the global economy.

Among keynote speakers are Dr. William Gruben, vice president for the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank; Dr. Jorge Saba Arbache from the Universidade do Brasília in Brazil, and Dr. John Adams, executive director of the Laredo Development Foundation.

The Conference begins Thursday, April 24 at 8 a.m. in WHTC room 116 and concludes on Friday, April 25.

Registration for the event is $235 for participants presenting research. Members of the community are invited to attend the various keynote speeches, panel and research presentations at a substantially reduced fee.

Interested individuals can attend any number of sessions and one meal for $25 or one entire day and all meals that day for $55. The Thursday evening reception is an additional $35 per person.

For more information, please contact Virginia Vincent, associate director of the CSWHT, at 326.2827, email vvincent@tamiu.edu or visit offices in WHTC room 203H.

University Spring semester hours are from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Affairs and Information Services at pais@tamiu.edu