MEDIA ADVISORY:Supreme Court Justice Thomas, N.Y. Times columnist Brooks available to the media Thursday

LAWRENCE -- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas will be available for the media, and New York Times columnist David Brooks will hold a news conference when they visit the University of Kansas on Thursday, Oct. 28.

Thomas will make his fourth visit to the KU School of Law Oct. 26-28 to participate in several forums and receptions with students and faculty. As part of his visit, Thomas will address a forum of law students, faculty and staff and pre-law societies at 12:30 p.m. Oct. 28 in Room 104 of Green Hall.

The media are welcome to attend this forum. However, audio and visual equipment will not be permitted during Thomas' remarks, and no one-on-one interviews will be granted.

Brooks will hold his news conference at 1:30 p.m. in the Rhodes Conference Room at the Dole Institute. Brooks, who also is a commentator on the "NewsHour With Jim Lehrer" on PBS, is visiting KU as part of the Kansas Economic Policy Conference. Brooks' speech will start at 7:30 p.m. in 120 Budig Hall. It is free and open to the public.

The two-day Kansas Economic Policy Conference will focus on "Free Trade, Agriculture and Global Development" and the costs and benefits of trade for Kansas, the High Plains region and the nation. The conference is free but requires registration. To register, call Continuing Education at (877) 404-5823 (toll free), (785) 864-5823 or visit http://www.kuce.org/programs/kepc.

Brooks spent nine years with the Wall Street Journal as op-ed editor; as Middle East, Russia, Europe and South Africa correspondent; and as editor of the book review.

Thomas took his seat on the Supreme Court in October 1991, after his nomination by President George H.W. Bush. In 1990-91, he was a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. He was assistant secretary for civil rights with the Department of Education in 1981-82 and chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from 1982 to 1990.