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Upton to visit WMU for talk on science policy

Feb. 12, 2009

KALAMAZOO--Rep. Fred Upton will visit the Western Michigan University campus Wednesday, Feb. 18, to meet with science faculty and deliver a talk on "Science Policy and the Federal Government."

Speaking at 11 a.m. in the Putney Auditorium at WMU's Fetzer Center, Upton is expected to speak for about 20 minutes and then field questions for the next 20 minutes from those in attendance. The event is free and open to the public.

Upton, of St. Joseph, Mich., has served Michigan's 6th Congressional District for the past 22 years, representing the southwest corner of Michigan in Congress. He is a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the top Republican on the House Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment. He also plays an active role on the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, which has jurisdiction over newly emerging high-tech issues such as telemedicine, broadband deployment, and the wiring of America's classrooms for Internet technology.

Upton and his family are longtime supporters of science education. WMU's Southwest facility on the campus of Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor includes two state-of-the-art science laboratories made possible by an Upton Foundation gift. They are used for an innovative program created especially for science educators working in Berrien County.

According to Dr. John R. Geiser, associate professor of biological sciences, Upton was invited to campus to meet with science faculty for a conversation on federal science policy as part of a small ongoing colloquium series. That event was expanded to include an hour-long public session on the same topic. Upton's visit to campus is sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Biological Sciences.

For more information, contact Geiser at john.geiser@wmich.edu or (269) 387-5392.

Media contact: Cheryl Roland, (269) 387-8400, cheryl.roland@wmich.edu

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