4/18/02

Janet L. McCoy, 334/844-9999

JOURNALISM PROFESSOR TO GIVE DAVIS LECTURE AT AUBURN

AUBURN -- Eugene Roberts, who led the Philadelphia Inquirer to 17 Pulitzer Prizes while executive editor, will give Auburn University's Neil O. and Henrietta Davis Lecture in Journalism on Tuesday, April 23.

Roberts, who now is a journalism professor in the University of Marylandıs Philip Merrill College of Journalism, will speak at 5 p.m., in the AU Hotel and Dixon Conference Center auditorium.

"Roberts' work in civil rights reporting is legendary, and he is among the most respected journalists of our time," said Dale Harrison, director of journalism in AU's Department of Communication and Journalism. "This is an extraordinary opportunity for the university's students and the Auburn community."

Prior to his career at the Inquirer, Roberts covered the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama and the South for The New York Times, where he was chief Southern and civil rights correspondent from 1965-67. He also covered the Vietnam War for The Times, serving as chief war correspondent from 1968-69. In addition, he was the paper's national editor from 1969-1972.

Roberts joined the Inquirer in 1972 as executive editor, a position he held for 18 years.

In 1991, he joined academia as a professor of journalism at the University of Maryland, and in 1994 he returned to The Times as managing editor.

In 1997, Roberts was named editor-in-chief of the State of the American Newspaper Project for the American Journalism Review, a position he held until 2000. He then rejoined the journalism faculty at Maryland.

Roberts' lecture is the third in the Neil O. and Henrietta Davis Lecture Series, named for the late couple who were journalism pioneers in Alabama. Neil Davis, publisher, founder and editor of the Auburn Bulletin for 40 years, launched the lecture series in 1997 through an initial contribution.

Neil Davis, a 1935 Auburn graduate, was a Nieman Fellow. Henrietta Worsley Davis, also a 1935 Auburn graduate, was fully involved as the paper's associate editor and chief reporter.

After retiring as publisher, Neil Davis served as an adjunct professor in AU's Department of Journalism, and assisted in the department's quest to obtain full accreditation in 1995.

Previous speakers include Hodding Carter III, best known as former President Jimmy Carterıs press secretary, and Brandy Ayers, publisher of The Anniston Star.

apr02: AU-roberts

CONTACT: Harrison, 334/844-4607; Bill Sutley, assistant professor of journalism, 334/844-4657.