NOTE TO EDITORS: Media interested in attending must RSVP to 949-824-9055 or cbyrd@uci.edu.

Former President Will Discuss Middle East Conflict Between Israel and Palestine

Former President Jimmy Carter will visit UC Irvine on Thursday, May 3, to discuss the Middle East conflict between Israel and Palestine and answer questions from students.

"We are honored to host President Carter, who has provided such distinguished service to our nation and to the world," said William R. Schonfeld, director of the Center for the Study of Democracy. "This is a rare and exciting opportunity for our students to hear directly from a former President of the United States about issues of great concern."

Carter's address to UCI students, faculty, staff and alumni will begin at 10:30 a.m. in the UCI Bren Events Center. Students are encouraged to submit questions online before the event and a panel of students and faculty will select representative queries to ask Carter during the program.

Carter is lauded for his work to forge the groundbreaking Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel in 1979. In his recent book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," he revisited Middle East issues and generated discussions across the country with a title that he acknowledges is provocative. His talk at UCI will focus on the current conflict in the Middle East.

For decades, the Carter Center has worked to promote democracy, mediate conflict and improve global health through the eradication of diseases including Guinea worm disease and malaria. In 2002, Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his "effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development." While at UCI, he will be presented with the 2008 UCI Citizen Peacebuilding Award. Previous recipients include former Soviet leader Mikhael Gorbechev and the XIV Dalai Lama.

Members of the UCI community may obtain ticket information at www.socsci.uci.edu/events/carter. Plans are being made to webcast the event live at that site for members of the public.

This event is sponsored by the Center for the Study of Democracy and the student-led Model United Nations in association with the Center for Citizen Peacebuilding and the Department of Political Science.

About the University of California, Irvine: The University of California, Irvine is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Founded in 1965, UCI is among the fastest-growing University of California campuses, with more than 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students and about 1,800 faculty members. The second-largest employer in dynamic Orange County, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $3.7 billion. For more UCI news, visit www.today.uci.edu.

Television: UCI has a broadcast studio available for live or taped interviews. For more information, visit www.today.uci.edu/broadcast.

News Radio: UCI maintains on campus an ISDN line for conducting interviews with its faculty and experts. The use of this line is available free-of-charge to radio news programs/stations who wish to interview UCI faculty and experts. Use of the ISDN line is subject to availability and approval by the university.