March 29, 2005

S.F. Mayor Gavin Newsom To Speak April 11;
Memorial Lecture Topic Is 'Same-Sex Marriage'

By Pat JaCoby

Gavin Newsom, mayor of the City and County of San Francisco, will speak on the status of same-sex marriage during the annual DeWitt Higgs Memorial Lecture to be held at 6 p.m. April 11 in RIMAC Arena at the University of California, San Diego.

The keynote speech and panel discussion that follows are sponsored by Earl Warren College, UCSD; Law & Society Program, UCSD, and California Western School of Law. The event is free and open to the public. Parking is $3.

Joining in the panel following Newsom’s address will be Michael Parrish, moderator, UCSD Department of History; Barbara Cox, California Western School of Law; John Evans, UCSD Department of Sociology, and Steven D. Smith, University of San Diego School of Law.

Steve Adler, provost of Earl Warren College and director, UCSD Law & Society Program, will welcome guests while Craig Higgs, attorney with Higgs, Fletcher and Mack, will present some brief reminiscences of his father, DeWitt Higgs. David Miller, acting senior vice chancellor for Academic Affairs, will introduce the guest speaker.

Newsom was elected 42nd mayor of the City and County of San Francisco in December, 2003 and was sworn into office in January, 2004 by his father, the Honorable William Newsom. Since his inauguration Newsom has made bold ideas the driving force of his administration and uses innovations and practical solutions to improve the quality of life for all San Franciscans.

Born in 1967, Newsom grew up in the Bay Area and graduated from Santa Clara University in 1989 with a bachelor of arts degree in Political Science. Before embarking on his career in public service he was a successful businessman. In 1992, he opened his first business, the PlumpJack Wine Shop. Over the years, he expanded his business and has created more than 700 jobs for San Franciscans. He was elected three times to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and served on the Board from 1997 to 2004.

The annual lecture honors DeWitt “Dutch” Higgs, who served on the UC Board of Regents for 16 years, during which time the university was facing unprecedented pressure in the deliberations about terminating Angela Davis and Herbert Marcuse.

For additional biographical information and directions, please see http://warren.ucsd.edu/law.

Media Contact: Pat JaCoby, 858 534-7404