EDITOR’S NOTE: To obtain a scanned photo of Nicholas Kristof in tiff or jpeg format, call the Office of Communications, (541) 346-3134.

EUGENE–Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nicholas D. Kristof, associate managing editor of The New York Times, will deliver the 2001 Ruhl Lecture on Monday, May 7, at the University of Oregon.

Kristof will speak on "Spies, Wars and Massacres: The Ethical Dilemmas of a Foreign Correspondent" at 4 p.m. in the Alumni Lounge of Gerlinger Hall, 1468 University St. The UO School of Journalism and Communication annually offers the free public lecture by a noted journalist who explores the boundaries of ethics in the news media.

"Mr. Kristof’s visit is especially timely as the recent spy plane incident reminds us of the value of having reporters on the scene of international events," says Tim Gleason, dean of the School of Journalism and Communication. "This native Oregonian has had an illustrious career in international journalism. His willingness to explore the ethical dilemmas faced by international journalists will enrich our understanding of the daily news we read and view and help prepare our future journalists for the career demands ahead of them."

Kristof says he is "delighted to return to God’s country–Oregon–to speak about issues that I’ve lost sleep over for many years now.

"Covering wars and upheaval abroad as a journalist is often terrifying," Kristof explains, "not just because you’re fearful of being shot, but also because you’re faced with unusual decisions that journalists aren’t trained to make.

"Do you quote somebody by name if that risks getting the person arrested? Do you try to visit sources if you may cause trouble for them just by contacting them? When must you put down your notebook and intervene to help somebody?

"Those are the kinds of problems that arise for foreign correspondents," Kristof says, "and they go to the heart of who we are."

In 1990, Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, who also had a career as a Times correspondent, jointly won a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of the Tiananmen Square democracy movement in China. They are the only married couple to win a Pulitzer.

That same year the couple also won the George Polk Award for foreign reporting and the Overseas Press Club award for international reporting.

Kristof and his wife have collaborated on two books on current affairs, "China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power," originally published in 1994 by Times Books, and "Thunder from the East: Portrait of a Rising Asia," published by Knopf in late September. In February, Knopf published the couple’s first novel under a similar title, "Thunder from the East."

Kristof left his family’s cherry farm near Yamhill to attend Harvard and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1981. He won first class honors in his study of law as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and later received a diploma in Arabic studies from the American University in Cairo.

When he joined The New York Times in 1984, Kristof initially covered economics and later served as a business correspondent in the Los Angeles bureau. He has served as The New York Times’ Hong Kong bureau chief, Beijing bureau chief and Tokyo bureau chief.

This past year, Kristof covered the presidential campaign and wrote a series of biographical articles about the candidate, Gov. George W. Bush. In February 2001, Kristof became associate managing editor, responsible for The New York Times’ Sunday editions.

The Ruhl Symposium is supported by an endowment established by the late Mabel Ruhl of Medford in memory of her husband Robert W. Ruhl, who died in 1967. He was the Pulitzer Prize-winning editor and publisher of the Medford Mail Tribune.

For more information about the Ruhl Symposium, call Jennifer King at (541) 346-5847.

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