Nationally known election analyst Larry J. Sabato will bring his insights of the political process to The University of Virginia's College at Wise Feb. 15-16.

On Thursday, Feb. 15, Sabato will discuss "The Perfect Storm: The Presidential Election of 2000." The lecture, which is free and open to the public, begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Chapel of All Faiths. Following the presentation, Sabato will sign copies of his books, "Feeding Frenzy: Attack Journalism and American Politics," and Peep Show: Media and Politics in the Age of Scandal." Copies of Sabato's books are available in the UVa-Wise Campus Store. Books will also be available in the Chapel Thursday evening.

Sabato will turn his attention to political advertisements for his Friday, Feb. 16 lecture. Also free and open to the public, the presentation begins at 1 p.m. in Smiddy Hall.

The Wall Street Journal has described Sabato as "probably the most quoted college professor in the land." That was certainly the case during the protracted 2000 presidential election when Sabato was a frequent contributor to CNN and other national broadcast and print media. Sabato has appeared on dozens of national television shows, including "60 Minutes," "Nightline", "Face the Nation", "The Jim Lehrer News Hour," "The Today Show", "Good Morning America", " and "Larry King Live."

The Robert Kent Gooch Professor of Government and Foreign Affairs at the University of Virginia, Sabato is the author of several books including: Dirty Little Secrets: The Resurgence of Corruption in American Politics; Pac Power: Inside the World of Political Action Committees; The Party's Just Begun: Shaping Political Parties for America's Future; and Feeding Frenzy: How Attack Journalism has Transformed American Politics.

Sabato is a former Rhodes Scholar and Danforth Fellow. After he graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Virginia in 1974, Sabato studied for a year at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He was awarded a Rhodes scholarship in 1975 and left Princeton to study at Queen's College, Oxford University. He earned his doctorate in politics from Oxford in less than two years and taught at New College, Oxford until 1978. Later that year, Sabato returned to Charlottesville to join the faculty at U.Va.

Sabato's visit to UVa-Wise is part of the College's University Fellows program. Established in 1998 to forge more direct links between the academic programs at UVa-Wise and U.Va., the University Fellows program offers faculty and students at UVa-Wise an opportunity to interact with some of the University's most outstanding professors. Sabato will be a guest in two political science classes during his visit and participate in discussion groups with faculty and students.

For more information, contact the Office of College Relations at 540-328-0130.