CHAPEL HILL -- David Brooks, op-ed columnist at The New York Times, will deliver the Weatherspoon Lecture at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School on Jan. 7, 2004 at 5 p.m.

The free public lecture in the school’s Maurice J. Koury Auditorium will be followed by a reception in the Kenan Center.

Brooks has been a regular analyst on "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," senior editor at The Weekly Standard and a monthly columnist for the Atlantic Monthly. According to the speaker’s organization, Leigh Bureau, "Brooks has a gift for bringing audiences face to face with the spirit of our times with humor, insight and quiet passion. He is a keen observer of the American way of life and a savvy analyst of present-day politics and foreign affairs."

Brooks’ first book, "BoBos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There," was on The New York Times’ bestseller list. His next book, about suburban life in America, is due in spring 2004.

Brooks spent nine years with The Wall Street Journal, with his last post as op-ed editor. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Smart Money, U.S. News & World Report, The New Republic and on National Public Radio, among other media outlets.

The annual Weatherspoon Lecture was created by a generous gift from longtime UNC-Chapel Hill and Kenan-Flagler supporters Van and Kay Weatherspoon. The lectures bring in outstanding visiting scholars and world leaders from the fields of education, business and government. They enrich the professional lives of the community and provoke interesting discussion and debate. A sampling of previous Weatherspoon lecturers includes Thomas Friedman, foreign affairs columnist for The New York Times; Paul Gigot and Mark Shields, political analysts for "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer;" David Gergen, editor-at-large of U.S. News & World Report; and Judy Woodruff, prime anchor and senior correspondent for CNN.

To R.S.V.P. to the lecture or for questions, call (919) 843-7787 or e-mail KFBSRSVP@kenan-flagler.unc.edu. Traffic is expected to be heavier due to a UNC home basketball game, so you must R.S.V.P. to park. Attendees are urged to register early. Limited parking is available in the visitor’s parking lot at the business school. Additional parking will be available in the Craige parking deck on Manning Drive.

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Kenan-Flagler contact: Kim Weaver Spurr, (919) 962-8951, spurrk@unc.edu