Institute for Arts and Humanities to honor renowned author Salman Rushdie

University Park, Pa. -- Penn State’s Institute for the Arts and Humanities will present its first Institute for the Arts and Humanities Medal for Distinguished Contributions to the Public Advancement of Arts and Humanities to author Salman Rushdie.

The awarding of this medal, designed by local artist Jeanne Stevens-Sollman, is in recognition of Rushdie's creative work and his public presence as an articulate spokesperson representing the rights and obligations of writers.

The IAH will award this medal annually as a way of recognizing original and important contributions to the public awareness of the arts and humanities. It will also be the occasion for the IAH to collaborate with other institutes and organizations on campus to bring such renowned figures to Penn State.

Rushdie is an internationally known author of fiction and nonfiction and the recipient of a myriad of literary awards as well as eight honorary doctorates. His second novel, "Midnight's Children," won the Booker Award in 1981, and subsequently the "Booker of Bookers'" Prize in 1993, having been selected as the best novel to be awarded the Booker Prize in its first 25 years. He is also a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, and the president of PEN (poets, playwrights, essayists, editors, and novelists) American Center.

As part of this event, Rushdie will deliver the 2006 Lippin Lecture in Ethics titled, "A Celebration of Letters" at Schwab Auditorium, University Park Campus, on April 11, at 7:30 p.m. The lecture is sponsored by the Rock Ethics Institute.

Also on April 11, the author will talk with WPSU's Patty Satalia from 3-4 p.m. in the lobby of the Outreach Building. The invitation-only talk is sponsored by the Pockrass Memorial Fund of the College of Communications.

On April 12, Rushdie will appear at an IAH seminar sponsored by the John M. Anderson Endowment Lecture Series of the School of Visual Arts.

All events are free to the public. Tickets are required and available after March 27th through Eisenhower Auditorium, Penn State Tickets Downtown, and the HUB Outlet (1-814-863-0255 or 1-800-ARTS-TIX). Rushdie’s appearance also marks the first event in a new lecture and roundtable series, "The Changing Book," sponsored by IAH, Penn State Press, Penn State Libraries, Pennsylvania Center for the Book, and Center for the History of the Book.

IAH executive director Marica Tacconi notes "The IAH is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its establishment (1966-2006). The new medal will draw attention to the impact the IAH has in fostering the arts and humanities both at Penn State and beyond. We are thrilled to have Salman Rushdie as the inaugural recipient of this significant new award."

For more information, go to the IAH's Web site: www.rersearch.psu.edu/iah or contact the Institute for the Arts and Humanities at 1-814-865-0495 or arts-humanities@psu.edu