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Sen. John Edwards to speak at Western
US Senator John Edwards

Edwards

 U.S. Sen. John Edwards, who rose from modest, small-town North Carolina roots to become recognized as a stand-out senator in the first year of his first term in office, will visit Western Carolina University for a public presentation Tuesday, Feb. 15.

Edwards, a new addition to the 1999-2000 Chancellor's Speaker Series at Western, will speak at 8 p.m. in the Ramsey Center. The program will include a question-and-answer session and will be followed by a public reception.

Sworn into office on Jan. 6, 1999, Edwards has quickly established a reputation as a young senator on his way up. The Winston-Salem Journal has called him "a rising star," and The Wall Street Journal recognized him in a front-page article as a senator who "impresses colleagues in behind-doors deliberations." Edwards was featured in a cover story titled "Senator Perfect" in Capital Style magazine, which praised him for his "common-sense style of politics."

A Democrat elected to office in November 1998 when he defeated incumbent Lauch Faircloth, Edwards serves on four Senate committees: banking, housing and urban affairs; governmental affairs; small business; and the special committee on the Year 2000 technology problem.

Born in 1953, Edwards grew up in the small Piedmont town of Robbins. His father worked in textile mills for 36 years, and his mother ran a small furniture refinishing shop. The first person in his family to go to college, Edwards worked his way through N.C. State University, graduating with honors in 1974. He earned a law degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1977, becoming a successful trial lawyer.

The Chancellor's Speaker Series is designed to bring significant figures to campus to discuss major issues of the day, and to provide WCU students with an opportunity to interact with some of the people who shape and influence our world.

Back to Archive: 02/03/00.