White House reporter and author, Helen Thomas, will be featured as the keynote speaker at the Communication and Journalism Department’s 13th annual Ann Devroy Memorial Forum at 7 p.m. April 29 in Zorn Arena.

In nearly 40 years as a reporter for United Press international, Thomas covered every president from John Kennedy to Bill Clinton. She also has authored six books and spent the past 10 years as a columnist for Hearst Newspapers, during which she covered George W. Bush and Barack Obama

Thomas was the first woman to be elected an officer of the National Press club, White House Correspondents Association and the Gridiron Club. She also was the only female reporter to go with President Richard Nixon on his 1972 diplomatic mission to China.

Mark Matthews – a former Baltimore Sun foreign correspondent, author and widower of Ann Devroy – will interview Thomas on stage.

In addition to her presentation, Thomas has agreed to meet with journalism students on the afternoon of the forum.

The CJ Department and the UW-Eau Claire Foundation host the forum every year to honor UW-Eau Claire alumni and former Spectator staffer Ann Devroy, who died of cancer in 1997 at the age of 49. For more information, visit the Communication and Journalism department’s home page.

To attend, please reserve a seat by submitting your name and printing the receipt/free ticket. Please bring the receipt to the forum.