RAMAZANI TO SPEAK AT FALL CONVOCATION OCT.  28

		CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Oct.  19 -- A record number of
undergraduates, nearly 600, will receive Intermediate Honors at Fall
Convocation on the Lawn at the University of Virginia Oct. 28.
		The opening event of Parents Weekend, Fall
Convocation recognizes students who earned grade point averages of
3.4 or higher in their first two years at the University.
		R.K. Ramazani, the Edward R. Stettinius Professor of
Government and Foreign Affairs, and a member of the UniversityÕs
faculty for 40 years, will speak, challenging the idea that the
future of world politics will be a Òclash of civilizations.Ó He will
offer his personal view that fundamental economic and social forces
may also lead us toward a blending of cultures.
		The Thomas Jefferson Award, given annually to a
member of the University community who exemplifies in character and
achievements the ideals of the UniversityÕs founder, will also be
presented.  The event is open to the public.
		The ceremony will begin at 1:50 p.m. with a faculty
procession in academic regalia from the Rotunda.  In case of bad
weather, the events will take place in Unversity Hall.  A decision
to move indoors will be announced by 10 a.m.  Classes are not
suspended for the occasion.
		An internationally known expert on Middle East
politics, Ramazani has for many years advised American presidents
and senior diplomats on Middle Eastern affairs, including the
Arab-Israeli conflicts, the Iranian hostage crisis and the 1991
Persian Gulf War.
	A realist about the likelihood of conflicts, he says
prospects for greater cooperation nonetheless exist.  The spread of
science and technology, the powerful bonds of international economic
interdependence and the expansion of political participation in many
societies are producing an unprecedented level of cultural
interaction.  The future holds possibilities for international
blending, he says.
	A native of Tehran, Iran, and a naturalized American
citizen, Ramazani earned a S.J.D. at U.Va. in 1954 and joined the
faculty the same year.  He is the author of several books on the
Middle East and Iran and twice served as chair of the Department of
Government and Foreign Affairs.  Three of his former students have
been U.S. ambassadors to Middle Eastern countries. An international
conference drawing together world experts on the region was held at
the University in September to honor his four decades of scholarship
and teaching. 
	Parents Weekend also includes the University Forum, a public
address by President John T. Casteen III on the state of the
University followed by a public question and answer session with
U.Va. leaders.  It will take place Oct. 29. on the South Lawn from
9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. 
	The public is also invited to join candlelight tours of the
Lawn hosted by University Guides in period costumes.  Tours will
begin at the Rotunda at 15-minute intervals from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
on Oct 28. 
	The four-day-long Virginia Festival of American Film begins
Oct. 27.
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October 18,  1994