9/8/2004

Contact: Todd Cohen, University Relations, (785) 864-8858, or Michelle Perry, Immigration and Naturalization Service, (816) 891- 0737

KU Dole Institute to host naturalization ceremony for 150 new citizens Sept. 10

LAWRENCE -- Approximately 150 people from 49 nations will take an oath to become American citizens in a ceremony Friday at the Dole Institute of Politics on the University of Kansas campus.

The 2 p.m. ceremony will feature speeches by KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway and Kansas City, Kan., U.S. District Judge Carlos Murguia, a 1982 KU graduate.

The citizens to be naturalized come from Australia, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Gambia, Germany, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Kampuchea, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Venezuela, Vietnam and Yugoslavia.

U.S. District Court Judge John W. Lungstrum, a 1970 KU graduate, will preside over the ceremony, which will include the singing of the national anthem by Sarah L. Young, a lecturer in the KU English department; the pledge of allegiance and presentation of colors by the Kansas Wing of the Civil Air Force Patrol; and the singing of "America the Beautiful" by Tami Anthony.

The event is open only to invited guests and media because of limited seating capacity. This is the second annual naturalization ceremony hosted by the institute. The first was Sept. 11, 2003.

With limestone walls, soaring stained-glass windows and a large reflecting pool reminiscent of Washington's Tidal Basin, the Dole Institute is a KU landmark. The $11 million, 28,000-square-foot facility houses exhibits and the world's largest congressional archive as well as meeting spaces and KU's first satellite uplink.

The institute is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Admission is free. For more information, call (785) 864-4900 or visit www.doleinstitute.org.