Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information Office
                                           publicinfo@selu.edu
                                           SLU 10880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           985/549-2341/fax 985-549-2061
    Date: 4/25/02
      Contact:                           Rene Abadie 18

Editors: Photo accompanies release
SENATOR MELVIN 'KIP' HOLDEN TO SERVE AS MORRISON LECTURER
     HAMMOND   Louisiana State Senator Melvin "Kip" Holden of Baton Rouge will present
Southeastern Louisiana University's 7th James H. Morrison Lecture on Politics and Government
at 11 a.m. Tuesday, April 30, in the Student Union Theatre.
     The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by Southeastern's Center for
Southeast Louisiana Studies and the College of Arts and Sciences. The event honors the late
James H. "Jimmy" Morrison, the Hammond native who represented Louisiana's Sixth
Congressional District in the U.S House of Representatives from 1943-1967. Morrison died in
2000.
     The lecture explores critical and topical events pertaining to public policy. Previous speakers
have included U.S. Senators John Breaux and Mary Landrieu, U.S. Representative W.J. Billy
Tauzin, state Sen. John Hainkel and state Rep. Henry "Tank" Powell.
     Holden was elected senator for Louisiana District 15 last year after serving as a representative
for House District 63 since 1988. An attorney and adjunct professor of law at Southern
University School of Law, he served as a Baton Rouge councilman from 1984-88 and worked as
a reporter for New Orleans and Baton Rouge radio and television stations. He received his
undergraduate degree in journalism from Louisiana State University, a master's degree in
journalism from Southern University, and a juris doctorate from Southern University School of
Law. 
     A featured lecturer on environmental matters, Holden serves on the Senate Environmental
Quality Committee. He is a recipient of the Brown Pelican Award, which recognizes
"Environmental Legislators of Louisiana" and which is sponsored by the Friends of the
Environment and Citizens for a Clean Environment. Holden is also a recipient of two
Outstanding Legislator Awards, one presented by the Sierra Club and one by the Louisiana
Association of Educators. Holden was honored by the Southern University Law Center when it
named him an outstanding alumnus and a Hall of Fame inductee. Southern University has also
cited him as "Outstanding Alumni of the Century."
     For additional information about the Morrison Lecture, call the university's Center for
Southeast Louisiana Studies, 549-2151.
                              -SLU-
Press release available online at www.selu.edu/news/spring02.html