March 15,1999
Contact: Bob Brickhouse
(804) 924-6856

PLEASE NOTE: The attached statewide list may include one or more
participants from your area.

SORENSEN INSTITUTE, NOW IN ITS FIFTH YEAR,
SELECTS 1999 CLASS OF VIRGINIA'S EMERGING POLITICAL LEADERS

	Some 37 business and community leaders from across Virginia have
been selected to participate in the 1999 class of the Thomas C. Sorensen
Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia.
	The Sorensen Institute is a nonpartisan center that provides
training for Virginia's emerging political leaders. The mission of the
institute, now in its fifth year, is to give class members the knowledge
and skills necessary to be informed and responsible participants in the
political process.
	The institute's 10-month program, held at universities around
the state, emphasizes three areas: public policy, ethics, and
campaigning. Faculty for the program include university professors,
current and former elected officials, and specialists in fields such as
transportation, education, the environment, and government finances.
	Business and community leaders from throughout the state compete
for selection in the institute's program. Participants are chosen in a
series of interviews conducted by the institute's 10 regional boards.
	The institute's program was launched in 1994, under the
leadership of founding director Bill Wood, former editorial page editor
of the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot and long-time Virginia political
reporter. Many of the program's graduates now hold elected and appointed
positions in local and state government, from school boards to the state
legislature.
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	For more information or for a news story marking the Sorensen
Institute's fifth anniversary, please contact Bill Wood, executive
director, at (804) 982-5698.
Television reporters should contact the TV News Office at (804)
924-7550.