News Release

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Former EPA head, N.J. Gov. Whitman,
to speak Feb. 13 at UNC-Chapel Hill

CHAPEL HILL — Christine Todd Whitman, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency and former Republican governor of New Jersey, will speak about the battle for the heart of the GOP Feb. 13 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Whitman will discuss her views at 7:30 p.m. in Hill Hall auditorium in a free public lecture. She comes to UNC as the Frey Foundation Distinguished Visiting Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Limited parking will be available in the Swain visitor’s lot off Cameron Avenue, some other campus lots after 5 p.m. and in pay lots on Rosemary Street.

Whitman was EPA administrator from January 2001 to June 2003 under President George W. Bush. She was New Jersey’s 50^th governor and its first female governor, from 1994 to 2001.

A moderate Republican, Whitman will discuss her book, "It’s My Party Too: The Battle for the Heart of the GOP and the Future of America," and her concerns about the hard-right turn the party has taken in recent years.

Today, Whitman is president of The Whitman Strategy Group, a management consulting/strategic planning company. She co-chairs the National Smart Growth Council. Before becoming governor, she was president of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.

The Frey Foundation Professorship was established in 1989 to bring to campus distinguished leaders from a variety of fields, including government, public policy and the arts. Edward J. and Frances Frey of Grand Rapids, Mich., established the foundation in 1974. Their son, David Gardner Frey, chairs the foundation. He earned bachelor’s and law degrees at Carolina in 1964 and 1967.

For more information on the lecture, call (919) 843-6339 or visit http://college.unc.edu.

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Photo URL: http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/visiting/Whitman_Christine.JPG

College of Arts and Sciences contact: Dee Reid, (919) 843-6339, deereid@unc.edu

News Services contacts: Print, L.J. Toler, (919) 962-8589; broadcast, Karen Moon, (919) 962-8595