News Release

Jason DeParle, senior writer for The New York Times will speak at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 4, in Great Hall in Levering Hall on the Homewood campus of The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles St. in Baltimore.

The talk is part of the Press and Public Policy seminar series presented by The Johns Hopkins University Institute for Policy Studies. The series spotlights the common ground between those who study and those who report on domestic policy issues.

DeParle will discuss the challenges facing poor Americans in an era in which personal responsibility has eclipsed the "social safety net" as the dominant social policy. In addition to his work for the Times, including contributions to The New York Times Magazine, DeParle has written for The New Republic, the Washington Monthly and The Times-Picayune. A former Henry Luce Scholar, DeParle was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 1995 and 1998 for his reporting on the welfare system. After his lecture, he will sign copies of his new book, American Dream: Three Women, Ten Kids, and a Nation's Drive to End Welfare (Viking, September 2004). For information about DeParle, visit his Web page, www.jasondeparle.com/.

The lecture is free and open to the public. Because seating and parking are limited, reservations are requested at 410-516-4186.