Jaime Escalante to speak at Wisconsin Union Theater

Bolivian educator Jaime Escalante, whose work in a Los Angeles high school was featured in the film “Stand and Deliver,” will speak in the debut of this year’s Distinguished Lecture Series.

The event begins at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 21, in the Wisconsin Union Theater, Memorial Union, 800 Langdon St.

In 1962, after a successful teaching career in Latin America, Escalante came to the United States, where he has established himself as one of the most renowned Latino educators. At Garfield High in East Los Angeles, he gained national fame by elevating the Advanced Placement Calculus program to a national level. In 1989, his class of 155 students passed the AP Calculus test, setting a Los Angeles city record.

This year, Escalante was one of three educators nominated to the United States Teaching Hall of Fame.

Escalante’s appearance is sponsored by the UW Latin American and Iberian Studies Program, Centro Hispano, Associated Students of Madison and the Distinguished Lecture Series committee, one of 11 Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) student committees which develop, coordinate and promote more than 800 events annually at UW–Madison.

Free tickets will be available at the Union Theater Box Office for UW–Madison students and Wisconsin Union members Thursday, Oct. 14; the remainder of the tickets will be available to the public on, Monday, Oct. 18. Box office hours are 11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. weekdays, and 30 minutes past curtain time on days of events.

Upcoming speakers include political activist Angela Davis (Nov. 16) and conservative analyst William Kristol (Dec. 7). For more information, contact Alden Oreck, 262-2216; azoreck@students.wisc.edu.