The newly elected chair of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean, will deliver a public lecture at Cornell University, Wednesday, Feb. 23, at 2:30 p.m. in Anabel Taylor Auditorium on campus. The topic of Dean's talk, which is sponsored by the student-led Cornell Democrats, is "Reforms in the Democratic Party."

The talk is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. They can be obtained beginning Wednesday, Feb. 16, at the Willard Straight Hall ticket office on campus, first come, first served.

During his visit to campus, Dean is scheduled to take part in a rally and meet with students, faculty and administrators.

At one time the front-runner for the Democratic Party's 2004 presidential nomination, Dean has had a 22-year career in politics. Most recently, he served as governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2002.

Dean's visit was organized by the Cornell Democrats, with support at Cornell from the Department of Government; the American Studies Program; the Offices of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, the Vice President for Student and Academic Services and the Vice President for Communications and Media Relations; the Dean of Students Office, and the Student Activities Finance Commission.