Sept. 18, 2003

Contact: Casey Connealy, Student Union Activities, (785) 864-7469.

Kansas Secretary of State to inaugurate KU student luncheon, lecture series

UPDATE: Congressman Dennis Moore will not be able to speak at the Nov. 12 lecture.

LAWRENCE -- Kansas Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh will kick off a new lunch-and-lecture series that gives University of Kansas students a rare opportunity to talk in depth with state and federal officeholders.

The Students Learning through Leaders lecture series will begin Sept. 23 with a private noon luncheon with Thornburgh and the first 15 students who register to attend. The luncheon is free and open to all students on a space-available basis. To register, call (785) 864-SHOW.

A public lecture will follow at 1 p.m. in the Jayhawk Room of the Kansas Union. Thornburgh, now serving his third term in office, will speak on his start in politics and current issues facing students. The lecture series is sponsored by the KU Memorial Unions Programs Department.

The series will continue Oct. 9 with a visit from Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline and Nov. 12 with a visit from Third District Congressman Dennis Moore, D-Kan.

Thornburgh, Kansas' 29th secretary of state, was elected to his first four-year term in 1994 and was re-elected in 1998 and 2002. Thornburgh is an executive committee member of the National Association of Secretaries of State and served as its president from 2001 to 2002. He also serves on the Federal Election Commission Clearinghouse Advisory Panel.

Thornburgh was involved in drafting the Help America Vote Act of 2002, recently signed into law by President George W. Bush. The act outlines provisions to improve the voting process, including mandates for new voting machines, expanded training for poll workers, and greater accessibility for disabled, senior, military and minority-language voters.