Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder visits Syracuse on Nov. 6 as part of The University Lectures series

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder visits Syracuse on Nov. 6 as part of The University Lectures seriesOctober 30, 2007Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

Tracy Kidder, author of “Mountains Beyond Mountains” (Random House, 2004), Syracuse University’s 2007 Shared Reading Program selection and the CNY Reads 2007-08 selection, will speak at SU on Tuesday, Nov. 6, as part of The University Lectures.

The lecture will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel and is free and open to the public. Parking is available for a reduced rate in the Irving Garage.

Kidder will participate in a book signing from 1-2 p.m. that day at the SU Bookstore in the Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Student Center; his books will be available there for purchase. He will also speak in Syracuse on Nov. 7 as part of the Rosamond Gifford Lecture Series.

A native of New York City, Kidder received a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in 1967 and served in the Vietnam War from 1967-69, earning the Bronze Star. Following his military service, he received his master’s degree from the University of Iowa, where he participated in the renowned Writer’s Workshop and began writing for Atlantic Monthly magazine.

His book, “The Soul of a New Machine” (Modern Library), celebrated for its insight into the world of high-tech corporate America, earned him a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award in 1982. Other bestselling books Kidder has authored include “House” (Houghton Mifflin Co., 1985); “Among Schoolchildren” (Houghton Mifflin Co., 1989); “Old Friends” (Houghton MifflinCo., 1993) and “Home Town” (Random House, 1999). Kidder’s most recent book, “My Detachment” (Random House, 2006), is a memoir of his experiences in Vietnam.

“Mountains Beyond Mountains,” published in 2003, captures two crises, tuberculosis and AIDS, through the eyes of Paul Farmer, a physician on a mission to improve the health of some of the poorest people on the planet. Farmer visited Syracuse in September to deliver the Laura Hanhausen Milton First-Year Lecture to freshmen students in SU’s College of Arts and Sciences. The lecture was also part of the 2007 Syracuse Symposium.

Kidder is a regular contributor to the New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly and The New York Times Book Review. He received the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award and Ambassador Book Award in 1990 and the Sarah Josepha Hale Award in 1998, among many other honors.

About the University LecturesThe University Lectures is a cross-disciplinary lecture series that brings to the University individuals of exceptional accomplishment in the areas of architecture and design; the humanities and the sciences; and public policy, management and communications. The series is supported by the generosity of the University’s trustees, alumni and friends.

Other scheduled speakers in the 2007-08 series are Amory Lovins, co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute (Nov. 15); Marjorie Hill, CEO of Gay Men’s Health Crisis (Feb. 26, 2008); Robert Satloff, executive director of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (March 18, 2008); and Eboo Patel, founder and director of the Interfaith Youth Core (March 27, 2008).

The Office of University Lectures welcomes suggestions for future speakers. To recommend a speaker, or for additional information about The University Lectures, contact Esther Gray in the Office of Academic Affairs at (315) 443-2941 or eegray@syr.edu, or visit http://lectures.syr.edu.