MEDIA ADVISORY

Fairbanks, Alaska - Noted travel author and photographer Peter Jenkins will visit Fairbanks Nov. 14-17 as part of the University of Alaska's "Writers-in-Residence" program. UAF Chancellor Marshall Lind will host a reception for Jenkins at the UA Museum on Monday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. The reception and the seminar which follows it are free and open to the public. Jenkins will also visit UAF and local school district classes during his visit. He will speak at the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce luncheon at noon Tuesday, Nov. 16 at the Westmark Hotel and at 7 p.m. at the Noel Wein Library.

Jenkins is best known for his book "A Walk Across America" which describes the first half of a five-year adventure across the United States. National Geographic published two major articles from his journey, and the second half of his adventure appeared in a later book, "The Walk West." Both books are now part of the White House permanent collection and are used in several thousand schools nationwide as required reading.

He has also penned tales of journeys along the Gulf of Mexico and the remote areas of China, and was part of the first U.S. team to summit Mount Everest from the Tibetan side. An established photographer, Jenkins' work has been published in People and the New York Times. He has appeared on major network TV and radio programs, and Larry King dubbed him as "one of America's best story tellers."

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CONTACT: Executive Officer Pat Ivey, Statewide Systems Governance at

(907) 474-7323 or by email: pat.ivey@alaska.edu.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Photos of Peter Jenkins available at (907) 474-7778.

JCS/11-11-99/00-026ma