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News Release

Last modified: Thursday, March 6, 2008

U.S. Secretary of Transportation to address Hoosier audience in Washington hosted by IU SPEA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 6, 2008

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters will be the featured speaker on Monday (March 10), on Capitol Hill at the 2008 Bi-annual Capitol Hill Colloquium hosted by the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) at Indiana University.

Secretary Peters will discuss her vision for the Department of Transportation and her efforts to transform the nation's transportation policy paradigm.

"The Capitol Hill Colloquium is a wonderful opportunity for SPEA to reconnect with alumni and friends in the nation's capital," said Kurt Zorn, interim dean of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. "We're delighted that Secretary Peters has agreed to share her insights on the challenges facing the U.S. transportation systems."

The colloquium will take place in the Hart Senate Office Building, Room 902. It will begin with a reception at 6 p.m., followed at 7 p.m. by introductory remarks from Zorn and then by Secretary Peters' address.

The event convenes SPEA and IU alumni in the Washington, D.C. region, along with interns in the IU Washington Leadership Program, representatives of the interns' sponsoring agencies and other friends of the university. Previous colloquium speakers include the Honorable Lee Hamilton, Sen. Richard Lugar, former EPA Administrator Christie Todd Whitman and Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew Center on Climate Change.

Peters was nominated by President George W. Bush to serve as the nation's 15th secretary of transportation and was confirmed by the Senate on Sept. 30, 2006. She has spent more than two decades creating solutions to the nation's transportation challenges, working in both the public and private sectors.

As secretary, Peters is responsible for maintaining a safe, reliable and efficient transportation system, while leading an agency with almost 60,000 employees and managing a $70.3 billion budget that oversees air, maritime and surface transportation missions.

The Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs is a global leader in public policy and management, environmental science, and in managing the relationship between the two. The school is committed to teaching, research and service in public and non-profit management, public policy, environmental science, arts administration and health administration. SPEA has earned national distinction for innovative educational programs and is ranked third among graduate programs in public affairs according to U.S. News and World Report.

To attend the colloquium, contact Bethan Roberts with SPEA at 317-340-4019 or bwr@indiana.edu.

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