October 1, 2002

Contact: Sarah Ray

802-443-5794

sray@middlebury.edu

Posted: October 1, 2002

MIDDLEBURY,

VT - White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer will give a talk titled

“The Presidency and the Press,” at 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 13, in

Middlebury College’s Mead Chapel on Hepburn Road off College Street (Route

125). Prior to the lecture, Middlebury College President John M. McCardell,

Jr. will present Fleischer, a member of the Middlebury class of 1982, with

an alumni achievement award. Following the event, there will be a reception

in the Redfield Room of Proctor Hall across the street from Mead Chapel.

Both the talk and the reception are free and open to the public.

Fleischer

is the official liaison between the White House and members of the press,

acting as the primary spokesman for the president and delivering the daily

White House briefing. He served as press secretary for Sen. Pete Domenici

from 1989-1994 and later as spokesman for the House Ways and Means Committee,

working on issues related to taxes, social security, welfare and international

trade. Prior to joining the campaign of Texas Gov. George W. Bush in the

fall of 1999, he served as communications director for Elizabeth Dole’s

presidential campaign.

Fleischer

began his career in politics after college when he became the press secretary

for losing GOP candidate and little-known New York assemblyman Jon Fossel

in a House race. Later he worked for the Republican National Committee;

for several GOP congressmen, including Rep. Joe DioGuardi; and in the

unsuccessful re-election campaign of Bush’s father. Fleischer is a native

of Pound Ridge, N.Y.

For

more information, contact Kathleen Knippler in the office of the secretary

of Middlebury College at knippler@middlebury.edu

or 802-443-5393.

We expect

a large crowd for the Ari Fleischer lecture, “The Presidency and

the Press,” that is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. on Sunday evening, October

13.

In order

to accommodate the large number of people who are expected to attend,

and to provide preferred seating to Middlebury College students, the following

procedures will govern this event:

• The
  
  doors to Mead Chapel will be opened at 7:00 p.m.
• The
  
  front half of the main floor of the chapel will be reserved for Middlebury
  
  College students with student IDs.
• The
  
  front row on the right-hand side, as one faces the stage, will be reserved
  
  for persons with disabilities.
• The
  
  back half of the main floor, and the balcony, will be available for
  
  general seating. Should any seats remain in the student section after
  
  7:45 p.m., they will be made available for general seating.
• Ushers
  
  will be present to assist with seating. Ushers will be instructed to
  
  ensure that all pews are fully occupied (8 to a row in the center sections,
  
  4 to a row in the side sections). Saving seats will not be permitted.
  
  Because space will be limited, we discourage bringing backpacks and
  
  other bulky items into the chapel.
• Overflow
  
  seating with closed-circuit television will be provided in the McCullough
  
  social space. Speakers will also be mounted outside Mead Chapel.

A videotape

of the lecture will be on reserve at Media Services in Sunderland after

the event.

Eric L.

Davis

Secretary of the College