This fall's University Forum lecture series begins Sept. 10 with former U.S. Sen. Richard H. Bryan who will present "An Evening of Public Affairs Commentary."

Bryan, who served as Nevada's governor before being elected to the Senate, now is an adjunct faculty member in UNLV's department of political science.

During the lecture, which is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Natural History, Bryan will discuss current trends and developments in both state and national politics. All University Forum lectures are free and open to the public.

"We are very pleased to be able to kick off our annual public lecture series with a presentation by Richard Bryan," said Steven Parker, chairman of the lecture series and an associate professor of political science at UNLV. "Few people in Nevada have more political insight and experience than the former senator."

A native Nevadan, Bryan received his law degree from the University of California, Hastings Law School. He started his legal career in 1964 as a deputy district attorney in Clark County. Two years later, he was named Clark County's first public defender. Bryan served in the Nevada Legislature in 1968 and was honored as the freshman legislator of the year. He was re-elected to the state Assembly in 1970. He was elected to the state Senate in 1972 and re-elected in 1976. The former prosecutor won his first statewide election as Nevada's attorney general. In 1982 he was elected to the first of two terms as governor. In 1988 he was elected to the first of two terms in the U.S. Senate. Bryan retired from the Senate in January.

The University Forum lecture series is sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts and is underwritten by the Lodge Kalafatis Trust and the UNLV Foundation. For more information on the series, call 895-3401 or send an E-mail to: forum@nevada.edu.