Internationally Recognized Scholar to Give Annual Jefferson Lecture at William Paterson University

Ralph Ketcham, professor emeritus, Syracuse University, and an internationally recognized scholar of early American history, will present the 19th annual Abram Kartch/Thomas Jefferson Lecture at William Paterson University in Wayne on Wednesday, May 7.

More than 400 students from area high schools are expected to attend Ketcham’s address, titled "Jeffersonian Citizenship, 1803 and 2003," which will begin at 9:45 a.m. in Shea Center on campus. A limited number of seats for the free program will be available to the public.

Ketcham has written several books on the Constitution and early American history, including "Famed for Posterity: The Enduring Philosophy of the Constitution" (University of Kansas Press, 1993) and acclaimed biographies of James Madison (Macmillan, 1971), a 1972 National Book Award nominee, and Benjamin Franklin (Washington Square Press, 1965).

Ketcham was named the CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) National Professor of the Year in 1987 and received the first-ever Chancellor’s Award for Excellence from Syracuse University in 1979. He has been a Fulbright lecturer in India, Japan, and the Netherlands; an American Bicentennial speaker on the U.S. State Department’s 1976 European tour; and a guest lecturer at institutions throughout the world.

The Abram Kartch/Thomas Jefferson Lecture Series began in 1985 after Abram Kartch, a retired Paterson businessman and Jefferson scholar, provided William Paterson with an endowment to establish and continue the series. Designed to provoke discussion about the relationship of Jefferson's words and thoughts to modern society, the series has presented lectures by many of the country's leading Jefferson scholars, including Henry Steele Commager, James B. Shenton, Jan Lewis and Pauline Maier. Kartch, who in later years resided in Wayne, died in 1997 at age 93.

An essay contest for high school and college students will be conducted by the University in connection with the lecture. Certificates and monetary prizes will be awarded to students who write the two best essays on the theme developed in Ketcham's lecture.

Essays must be postmarked no later than May 28, 2003, and sent to Richard Kearney, Cheng Library, William Paterson University, Wayne, New Jersey 07470. For additional information about the contest, contact George Robb, associate professor of history, at 973-720-3058.

4/22/03
For Further Information, contact:

Mary Beth Zeman, Director, Public Relations 973-720-2966