NEWS RELEASE, 4/22/99 A keynote speech by California Governor Gray Davis at a University of California, Berkeley, ceremony marking the 131st anniversary of Charter Day

By Public Affairs

BERKELEY MEDIA ADVISORY: ATTENTION EDUCATION WRITERS, CITY DESKS WHAT: A keynote speech by California Governor Gray Davis at a University of California, Berkeley, ceremony marking the 131st anniversary of Charter Day - the day the University of California was founded. WHO: In addition to Gov. Davis, participants will include Robert M. Berdahl, UC Berkeley chancellor; and Dr. Ahmed A. Goueli, Minister of Trade and Supply of the Arab Republic of Egypt and recipient of the Haas International Award. The Haas International Award is given each year to a UC Berkeley alumnus who is a native, citizen and resident of a nation other than the United States and who has a distinguished record of service to his or her country. WHEN: Friday, April 30, 1999 at 11 a.m. WHERE: Zellerbach Auditorium, UC Berkeley. BACKGROUND: For more than a century, Charter Day celebrations on the Berkeley campus have attracted the world's top scholars, heads of state and Nobel laureates. Officially, Charter Day is March 23; the university was founded on that day in 1868. Each spring, however, the date of the observance varies. This year's ceremony will be followed by a noon birthday celebration on Dwinelle Plaza for the campus community. There will be a birthday cake as well as a concert featuring the Cal Marching Band and the UC Men's Octet. NOTE: The media is invited to attend this Charter Day event. A press section will be set aside in Zellerbach Auditorium with good views of the stage. Reporters, photographers and camera crews planning to cover the 11 a.m. ceremony should RSVP to Jean Smith in the Public Affairs office at (510) 643-7843 or jas@pa.urel.berkeley.edu. She will arrange for press badges and provide parking information. On the day of the event, a press table will be set up in the lobby of Zellerbach. ###