The 1995-96 series will also present David Gergen, journalist and former presidential political advisor, author Gail Sheehy and "information superhighway" expert and television/communications executive Howard Stringer.

Each lecture will be at 8 p.m. in the MainStage Theatre in the Center for the Arts on the North Campus.

The series is presented by UB and the Don Davis Auto World Lectureship Fund. Key Bank is series sponsor, with the Amherst Chamber of Commerce as affiliate sponsor. Contributing sponsors are the Buffalo Marriott, UB Center for the Arts, Makin' Copies, UB Alumni Association and the James Fenton Lecture Foundation.

Rita Dove, who opens the series, was the youngest person and first African-American to receive the highest official honor in American letters when she was appointed U.S. Poet Laureate and Consultant in Poetry in 1993. Her appointment was renewed in 1994 and continues through October.

Dove is the author of the poetry collections, "The Yellow House on the Corner," "Museum," "Thomas and Beulah," "Grace Notes" and "Mother Love." "Thomas and Beulah," a collection of poems loosely based on her grandparents' lives, earned her the 1987 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, making her the second black poet to receive the Pulitzer.

Her other publications include a novel, "Through the Ivory Gate;" a verse drama, "The Darker Face of the Earth," and a short-story collection, "Fifth Sunday." A commissioner of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library since 1988, Dove is an associate editor of "Callaloo," the pre-eminent magazine for African-American arts and literature.

The holder of 10 honorary degrees, she was named one of 10 "Outstanding Women of the Year 1993" by Glamour and recently received the Great American Artist Award from the NAACP. Dove's lecture will be sponsored by just buffalo literary center inc.

David Gergen, journalist and political pundit and senior advisor to four American presidents, will speak Nov. 1. A senior advisor to former Presidents Nixon, Ford and Reagan, Gergen served between June 1993 and December 1994 in the Clinton Administration as counselor to the president and special advisor to President Clinton and Secretary of State Warren Christopher.

He is a visiting professor at the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy at Duke University, and a trustee and senior fellow of the Aspen Institute.

Gergen served as editor-at-large for U.S. News & World Report from 1988 until his appointment to the Clinton Administration.

From 1987-93, he teamed with columnist Mark Shields on "The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour" on PBS. Their coverage of the 1988 political campaign won them the title of "best pundits" of the year by the "Political Almanac." He is returning to "The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour" as a weekly contributor. His lecture will be sponsored by the UB Office of Conferences and Special Events.

Gail Sheehy, who forged new landmark perspectives on adult life as a series of predictable stages, will speak March 14.

Sheehy is the best-selling author of "Passages," "The Silent Passage"-which was on The New York Times bestsellers list for more than two years-and the recent bestseller, "New Passages: Mapping Your Life Across Time".

A survey by the Library of Congress placed "Passages" among the top 10 books that have most influenced people's lives. Her new book is based on her ongoing study of the second adulthood for men and women. Sheehy frequently appears on "The Today Show," "Nightline," "The MacNeil/Lehrer Report" and "This Week With David Brinkley." An original contributor to New York magazine and a contributing editor of Vanity Fair, Sheehy has been credited with establishing a new genre of political writing. Her character portraits of world leaders, including Mikhail Gorbachev, Dan Quayle, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Saddam Hussein, won her the 1991 Washington Journalism Review Award for Best Magazine Writer in America.

Sheehy is a member of the Women's Forum of New York, on the board of Poets and Writers and on the board of advisors to the Women's Health Initiative for the NIH. Her lecture will be sponsored by University Bookstores.

Howard Stringer, president of CBS/Broadcast Group from 1988-95 and internationally recognized expert on the "information superhighway," will speak April 25.

During his presidency at CBS/Broadcast Group, Stringer was credited with the network's turnaround, with strengthening all broadcast divisions of CBS, Inc. and in bringing David Letterman to CBS late night.

Regarded as one of the most powerful and respected media executives, he heads a multimillion dollar media venture created by Bell Atlantic, NYNEX and Pacific Telesis, pioneering the use of the nation's telephone networks to offer homes an array of direct programming and interactive video services. His presentation will be sponsored by the UB School of Management Alumni Association.

Series tickets for Tier I (orchestra) are $67; for Tier II (rear orchestra, front balcony), $58; for Tier II (balcony), $49. UB faculty, staff, alumni and senior citizens 60 and older will receive a $9 series discount. Students will receive an $18 series discount.

Individual speakers tickets range from $12-$18 for Dove; $19-$25 for Gergen; $15-21 for Sheehy and $15-$21 for Stringer. Discounts are $3 for UB faculty, staff and alumni and senior citizens; $6 for students. A 10 percent discount is available for groups of ten or more. Series subscriptions and discounts must be purchased by mail order or in person at Center for the Arts Ticket Office. Subject to availability, tickets for individual lectures may be purchased at the door.