Northern Kentucky University junior Nick Kelley practices for his juries, the equivalent of a final exam in piano proficiency, in the university's Fine Arts Center. He plans to be a music teacher. The Cincinnati Enquirer/GARY LANDERS

NKU - The fifth annual Northern Kentucky University Alumni Lecture Series will feature two famous politicians discussing "Governing in America: The Patriarchs of the Parties."

Bob Dole, former Republican presidential nominee and Senate majority leader, and George McGovern, former Democratic presidential nominee and senator, will speak at 7 p.m. Oct. 5 in Regents Hall.

Tickets will be available June 1 and are $30 for the public. NKU alumni, faculty and staff can buy tickets for $25; students can buy tickets for $5. For tickets, call (859) 572-5370.

Xavier seniors to receive commissions

XAVIER- Twelve seniors, including three who will receive the distinguished military honor, will graduate today from Xavier University's Reserve Officer Training Corps' All for One Battalion.

The seniors will be awarded their commissions at 11 a.m. in the Schiff Family Conference Center in the Cintas Center. The event is free and open to the public.

Army Four-star Commanding Gen. Burwell B. Bell III will speak. All U.S. Army troops in Europe are under his command.

Recipients of the distinguished military graduate honor are seniors Pat Hicks of Olmsted Falls, Ohio; Eric Wictora of Cleveland; and Pat Owsiak. Owsiak, from New Berlin, Wis., ranked 11th of 4,681 cadets nationwide and participated in the annual George C. Marshall ROTC Awards Seminar at the Virginia Military Institute earlier this year.

The seminar honors top cadets of the nation's 272 ROTC programs based on leadership potential and professional development.

Miami professor Carnegie Scholar

MIAMI - Adeed Dawisha, a political science professor at Miami University, has been named a Carnegie Scholar for 2004-05.

An Iraqi native, Dawisha specializes in the study of Middle East politics and Iraq in particular. He is the author or editor of 10 books and more than 70 scholarly articles and has been a consultant to the Departments of State and Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency.

He was one of 15 scholars chosen from 54 finalists.

UC president to be formally installed

UC - UC President Nancy L. Zimpher will be formally installed as the school's 25th president in a ceremony at 3:30 p.m. May 21 in the Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center.

The inauguration will be just one of many events occurring within the university's Main Street preview celebration, scheduled for May 21-22.

Zimpher became UC's first female president Oct. 1. She previously served as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and held a faculty position in the School of Education.

For more information, log on to www.uc.edu/inauguration.

Kristina Goetz

E-mail kgoetz@enquirer.com