News Release

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Former Brazilian President
to speak at UNC March 26

CHAPEL HILL – Dr. Fernando Henrique Cardoso, the immediate past president of Brazil and one of Latin America’s most distinguished sociologists, will discuss “Globalization and Development: The Brazilian Experience” on March 26 at UNC.

The free public lecture will be at 7 p.m.  in the theatre of the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History, followed by a public reception in the lobby. Limited parking will be available in the Bell Tower parking lot, off South Road at the stoplight just west of the Morehead Patterson Bell Tower.

Anthony S. Harrington, a former U.S. ambassador to Brazil, will introduce Cardoso. Harrington, who received a bachelor’s degree in history from UNC in 1963, is chief executive officer and co-founder of Stonebridge International, LLC, an international business strategy firm.

Cardoso, president of Brazil from 1995 through 2002, comes to UNC as the Frey Foundation Distinguished Visiting Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences. On campus from March 24-27, he will meet with two undergraduate classes, attend a meeting of UNC’s advisory board for global education and meet with faculty engaged in research on Latin America, globalization and development issues.

Currently, Cardoso is a professor at large at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies.

The first president ever democratically re-elected in Brazil, Cardoso instigated social programs that increased primary school enrollment to near-universal levels, reduced infant mortality and slowed the spread of AIDS by providing free medical treatment for all HIV-positive Brazilians.

As national finance minister from 1993 to 1994, he was credited with successfully controlling inflation and turning the troubled Brazilian economy around.

Previously, Cardoso taught sociology and political science at the University of Sao Paulo; he was president of the International Sociology Association from 1982 to 1986.

His publications include “Dependency and Development in Latin America,” a 1970s classic in the field of sociology and political economy, and “Charting a New Course: The Politics of Globalization and Social Transformation” (2001). Cardoso discussed his country’s turbulent political and economic history in his 2006 memoir “The Accidental President of Brazil.”

The Frey Foundation Visiting Professorship was established in 1989 to bring to campus distinguished leaders from fields including government, public policy and the arts. The professorship is supported by a gift from the Frey Foundation, established by Edward J. and Frances Frey of Grand Rapids, Mich., and chaired by their son, UNC alumnus David Gardner Frey, who earned bachelor’s and law degrees at UNC in 1964 and 1967, respectively.

For more information, contact Dee Reid, (919) 843-6339, deereid@unc.edu.

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Photo URL: http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/visiting/cardoso_fernando_enrique.jpg

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