Vouchers for Attorney General Janet Reno lecture to become available Sept. 8

LAWRENCE -- Free vouchers to a public presentation by former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno at the University of Kansas will be available starting Sept. 8.

"A Conversation with Janet Reno" is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Sept. 23 at the Lied Center on KU's West Campus. Reno, the only woman to serve as attorney general, also is scheduled to visit three KU School of Law classes studying criminal procedure and constitutional law and attend a luncheon with law school faculty.

Vouchers are free and will be available in the Student Union Activities office in the Kansas Union and the Lied Center box office. Phone orders for will call may be made by calling (785) 864-4550. Audience members need to arrive at least 10 minutes before the program. The lecture by Reno, noted for her strong-willed and straightforward manner, is being funded through the law school's Stephenson Lecture in Law and Government and Waldron-Foster Professionalism funds.

Reno, 65, earned a degree in chemistry at Cornell University and then enrolled in Harvard Law School, one of only 16 women in a class of more than 500 students. Despite her Harvard degree, she had difficulty obtaining work as a lawyer because she was a woman. As staff director of the Florida House of Representatives judiciary committee, she helped revise the state court system. She then joined the Dade County State's Attorney's Office before becoming a partner in a private law firm.

In 1978, she became the first woman to serve as state attorney in a Florida county and was re-elected by Dade County voters four times. She helped reform the juvenile justice system, pursued delinquent fathers for child support payments and established the Miami Drug Court.

President Bill Clinton appointed Reno as the nation's first female attorney general in 1993, directing the world's largest justice and federal law-enforcement office. She served until 2001, the second-longest tenure of any attorney general. Reno ran for Florida governor in 2002 but lost in the Democratic primary.

NOTE TO MEDIA: Press may attend class presentations at 9:30 a.m, 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Sept. 23 as long as you do not disrupt or distract the class. No camera lights; flash cameras restricted to the first minute. If you wish to attend a class presentation, please contact Todd Cohen at (785) 864-8858.