GREENVILLE, S.C. - John Simpkins, a lawyer, teacher and writer who lived and worked in South Africa during the 1990s, will speak on the Furman University campus Tuesday, Oct. 8, at 8 p.m. in Room 101 of Johns Hall.

His lecture, "Birth of a Rainbow Nation: Creation of the New South Africa," is open to the public.

Simpkins is spending the week on the Furman campus as the Richard W. Riley Institute Fall Term Fellow in Residence. While on campus, he will teach classes and meet informally with students and faculty.

A native of Columbia, S.C., Simpkins graduated from Harvard University in 1993 and the Duke University School of Law in 1999. He also attended the U.S.-Asia Institute in Transnational Law at the University of Hong Kong and was an exchange student at the University of Cape Town.

As the apartheid regime in South Africa was coming to an end and a transition period to majority rule was beginning, Simpkins, then 23 and fresh out of Harvard, began a two-year stay in that country. He taught, coached and became highly involved in the community development of the townships and urban ghettos that were the legacy of the old minority regime.

After graduating from Duke Law School, he went to work for the prestigious Washington, D.C., law firm of Baach Robinson &Lewis. In April 2002, he left the firm to write, teach and work in community development and public service. His writing has appeared in such publications as The New Republic, The Oxford American and The New York Times Magazine.

For more information, contact Furman's Office of News and Media Relations at 864-294-3107.

###########

# 28, 10-7-02