Gwen Ifill, Moderator of PBS Washington Week, to Speak at Rutgers March 29 as the Center for American Women and Politics' Senator Wynona Lipman Chair in Women's Political Leadership

WHAT: Politics, Policy and Reality: Whats Really Going on in Washington, the Senator Wynona Lipman Chair in Womens Political Leadership lecture. The free public talk is part of the Eagleton Institute of Politics 50th Anniversary Lecture Series, Because Politics Matters.

WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday, March 29. Members of the public should R.S.V.P. to

732-932-9384, ext. 331, or to eagleton.events@rutgers.edu.

WHERE: Multipurpose Room of the Busch Campus Center at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 604 Bartholomew Road, Piscataway. Directions at www.cawp.rutgers.edu.

BACKGROUND: As managing editor of Washington Week, the longest-running public affairs program on public television, Ifill selects stories, panels of news correspondents and moderates the Q&A format. On The NewsHour, she serves as correspondent and moderator. She has filled the latter role in debates in national elections, most recently in 2004. Prior to her career at PBS, Ifill was chief congressional and political correspondent at NBC News. She has been a reporter for The New York Times, Washington Post, Baltimore Evening Sun and Boston Herald American.

The Lipman chair, made possible by the generous support of the New Jersey Legislature, honors the late senator, the first African-American woman to serve in that branch of government. The chair was established at CAWP in 2000 when Gov. Christie Whitman signed legislation that was passed unanimously in the state Senate and General Assembly.

Contact: Steve Manas
732-932-7084, ext. 612
E-mail: smanas@ur.rutgers.edu