A regular contributor to ABC's "Good Morning America" and "Nightline," Stephanopoulos will speak at a free public lecture at 5:30 p.m. in Memorial Hall.
The lecture, titled "Politics: The Art of the Impossible -- A View From Washington," is sponsored by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Stephanopoulos served as communications director and deputy campaign manager during the 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign. He also was a senior adviser during the first term of the Clinton administration. He received his master's degree in theology from Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.
Stephanopoulos originally was scheduled to lecture Oct. 2, but organizers rescheduled the speech when Stephanopoulos was sent to Afghanistan on assignment for ABC News after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Stephanopoulos' speech is the fifth in the Roy H. Park Distinguished Lecture Series, named for the late Roy Park, a former member of the board of directors for the school of journalism's foundation.
The lectures began in 1999 with one speech a year. But Stephanopoulos' will be the first of three lectures in 2002, organizer Ruth Walden said. "The Park lectures are designed to bring outstanding and well-known mass communications professionals to the UNC campus," said Walden, a journalism professor.
Walden said Stephanopoulos was suggested as a possible lecturer by a number of faculty and students. "Because of his high profile and strong political background, George Stephanopoulos is a highly qualified speaker," she said.
Stephanopoulos follows the likes of journalism professionals JoAnn Burkholder, Charles Lewis, Doug Marlette and Sandy Mims Rowe as a speaker in the series.
Freshman business major Chad Martin said he is eagerly anticipating Stephanopoulos' speech. "It's very interesting and exciting that he would take time out of his schedule to visit UNC."
