FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

FORMER U.S. CONGRESSMAN TONY COELHO TO TEACH "CAMPAIGN 2004" AS PART OF LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY'S INSTITUTE FOR LEADERSHIP STUDIES
LMU Graduate Coelho Named Distinguished Teaching Fellow For 2004-05

May 4, 2004 - Former U.S. Congressman Tony Coelho has been named a Distinguished Teaching Fellow in the 2004-05 academic year at the Institute for Leadership Studies at Loyola Marymount University of Los Angeles, President Robert B. Lawton, SJ, announced Monday.

Coelho will team-teach a new course, "Campaign 2004," with LMU's nationally recognized presidential scholar Michael A. Genovese and elections expert Matthew Streb.

A 1964 LMU graduate and former student body president, Coelho represented California's Central Valley in Congress for more than a decade and was elected as House Majority Whip in 1987-1989. He served as chair of Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign and was the principal author of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), widely recognized as the most important piece of civil rights education in the past 30 years.

"We are honored that Tony Coelho will bring his extensive experience in politics, government, and business to the classroom at LMU," Lawton said. "His engaging personality and expertise with respect to leaders and leadership strategy will be particularly valuable to our students in what is proving to be a dynamic presidential election year. We look forward to welcoming him on campus."

The course will focus on the first presidential election since September 11, 2001, including the impact of the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism, as well as the presidential selection process, candidates, issues, voters, the role of the media, and the impact of money on election results.

"The most important resource we have as a nation is our young people, and it is critical that we trigger their interest in the democratic process and in public service," Coelho said. "I want to contribute to that any way I can, especially at my alma mater." Coelho is a political science graduate of LMU and a former trustee; he later received an honorary doctoral degree from LMU. In one of his many public service roles, he served as a member of the Presidential Commission on the Roles and Capabilities of the United States Intelligence Community in 1991-92.

Promoting awareness and rights for people with disabilities also continues to be a top priority for Coelho, who has epilepsy. He served as chair of the President's Committee on Employment of People With Disabilities from 1994 to 2001 and is active on a number of related non-profit boards.

"Coelho is one of the nation's top political strategists," said Genovese, who is LMU's chair of leadership studies and director of the institute. " It will be exciting to have a practitioner in our classroom who is so well connected and can add considerable depth and insight into the political process for our students."

About Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles
Founded in 1911, Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles is the eighth largest of the nation's 28 Jesuit colleges and universities. With a strong base in the liberal arts, LMU serves more than 5,300 undergraduates and nearly 3,000 graduate students. LMU includes four colleges: the Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, the College of Business Administration, the College of Communication and Fine Arts, and the Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering, as well as the School of Education, the School of Film and Television, the Graduate Division, LMU Extension, and Loyola Law School. For more information, visit the LMU website at www.lmu.edu.

###