ITHACA, N.Y. -- Maria Martin, executive producer of National Public Radio's "Latino USA," is the guest speaker at the Latino Studies Program (LSP) at Cornell University's 10th Annual Unity Dinner, Friday, Oct. 25, at 5:30 p.m. in the Willard Straight Memorial Room on campus.

Tickets are $6 and the event is open to the public. To purchase a ticket, or for more information, contact Victoria Burke or Marti Dense at the LSP office, (607) 255-3197.

With more than 20 years experience in Latino public broadcasting, Martin also has worked as Latino affairs editor at NPR's national desk. Before joining NPR, Martin was editor and host of Latin America News Service (LANDS) and also worked as a freelance reporter and independent producer for NPR. In 1999, Martin received the Unda-USA Gabriel Award and a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism award. She recently received an international Knight Press Fellowship, which will allow her to train journalists in Uruguay and Guatemala, and a Fulbright scholarship that will enable her to work directly with Mayan radio stations in Guatemala.

"Latino USA" is the weekly radio journal of news and culture that garners about 250,000 listeners weekly. The station is heard in nine of the top 10 Arbitron rating markets. While designed as a magnet for Latino and African-American listeners, the program draws a widely diverse audience. Hosted by Maria Hinojosa, it has won 30 prestigious journalistic awards.

For the past 10 years, LSP has celebrated Latino Heritage Month with its annual Unity Dinner. LSP, an interdisciplinary academic program that focuses on Latino/a issues in the United States, as opposed to Latin America, was originally established in 1987 as the Hispanic American Studies Program. The program is similar to the general field of Latino studies and includes study of the historical, linguistic, literary, social, economic and political experiences of the more than 35 million Latino people in the United States. Cornell undergraduates can acquire a concentration in Latino Studies and graduate students may minor in the field. LSP also is designed to enlarge the size of the Latino faculty at Cornell, through permanent appointments, visiting scholars and post-doctoral fellowships, as well to enhance the academic environment on campus through support of such activities as lectures, conferences, seminars, exhibits and research activities.