TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Dr. Edward O’Neil Jr., director of the Center for Health Professions at the University of California at San Francisco, will give the 2007 New College Distinguished Alumni Lecture.

O’Neil, a 1974 New College graduate, is a professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, Preventative and Restorative Dental Sciences and Social and Behavioral Sciences at UCSF.

The lecture, titled “The Future of Health Care in America,” will be Thursday, April 5, at 8 p.m. in 205 Smith Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public.

This event is co-sponsored by the UA College of Nursing, the Health Care Management Program, College of Medicine at Tuscaloosa, College of Community Health Sciences, the Department of Community and Family Medicine and the Institute for Rural Health Research and New College.

New College, housed in the College of Arts and Sciences, is UA’s program of interdisciplinary and individualized study. Founded in 1971, it has provided thousands of students with the opportunity to shape flexible and personal educational experiences.

The College of Arts and Sciences is the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the “USA Today” Academic All American Team.

The University of Alabama, a student-centered research university, is in the midst of a planned, steady enrollment growth with a goal of reaching 28,000 students by 2010. This growth, which is positively impacting the campus and the state’s economy, is in keeping with UA’s vision to be the university of choice for the best and brightest students. UA, the state’s flagship university, is an academic community united in its commitment to enhancing the quality of life for all Alabamians.