Monday, December 22, 2008

The University of North Carolina Wilmington Upperman African American Cultural Center announces Mae C. Jemison as the keynote speaker for Martin Luther King Jr. Week. She will speak at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 22 in Kenan Auditorium

Jemison, an American physician and a former NASA astronaut, became the first African American woman to travel in space when she boarded the Space Shuttle Endeavour on Sept. 12, 1992.

She was selected for the astronaut program in June 1987. Her technical assignments since then have included launch support activities at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, verification of Shuttle computer software in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL) and Science Support Group activities.

Admission is free, but tickets are required and are available at the Kenan Auditorium Box Office, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Monday through Friday beginning Jan. 5, 2009. For more information, call 910.962.3500.