Annan Visit Attracting Students

Annan Visit Attracting Students
RICE NEWS OFFICE
April 16, 1998

More than 2,500 area high school and college students and faculty members already
are making plans to attend U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s speech at Rice
on Thursday, April 23.

Invitations to area schools and universities were distributed late last month,
and confirmations continue to flow in to Rice’s James A. Baker III Institute
for Public Policy offices. The Baker Institute is sponsoring Annan’s visit to
campus as part of its Shell Lecture Series.

The program starts at 10 a.m. in Autry Court. Rice students, faculty and staff
need only show a university identification card to attend the event. Doors will
open at 9 a.m. Seating will be on a first-come basis.

Former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III, who is serving as the personal
envoy of the U.N. secretary-general on the Western Sahara, will introduce Annan.

"Ever since the inception of the Baker Institute a few years ago, we have
had a focus on the role of the United Nations and United States’ interests,"
said Baker Institute Director Edward Djerejian. "We are particularly pleased
that Secretary-General Annan has agreed to make a major presentation on the
United Nations role at this historical juncture, where international peacemaking
and peacekeeping are key issues.

"Also, we are happy to provide Rice students, faculty and staff, as well
as the broader Houston community, this unique opportunity to hear Kofi Annan’s
views firsthand."

In case Autry Court reaches capacity, overflow rooms will be opened across
campus with the program broadcast on television monitors.

The program will be broadcast on campus cable channels 2 and 13, as well as
on RealAudio/RealVideo on the Internet through the university’s RTV site at
http: //www.rice.edu/rtv/.

For related information visit the following Web site:
Rice’s James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy: http://riceinfo.rice.edu/projects/baker/index.html
United Nations: www.un.org