Nov. 4, 2004, Findlay, Ohio – Walter Mosley, author of nineteen critically acclaimed books and a Grammy winner, will give the keynote address to kick off The University of Findlay’s fourth annual Academic Excellence Day Wednesday, Nov. 10, at 9 a.m. in the Ralph and Gladys Koehler Fitness and Recreation Complex.

The event, which runs from 8:30 a.m. until noon, features nearly 50 student and faculty projects that showcase academic excellence, scholarship and research done by students and faculty throughout the school year. The presentations cover topics ranging from the mating behavior of a nocturnal damselfly to graphic design techniques of the Japanese culture.

Mosley’s work has been translated into 21 languages, and his popular mysteries featuring the character Easy Rawlings include Devil in a Blue Dress, A Red Death, A Little Yellow Dog, and his most recent work Little Scarlet. He has also worked on a variety of literary projects including What Next, a political essay and handbook for community action, and numerous short fiction stories.

Mosley has won many awards including a Grammy for his liner notes accompanying Richard Pryor…And It’s Deep Too!: The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (1968-1992). He has also been awarded the Anisfield Wolf Award, the Black Caucus of the American Library Association’s Literary Award and Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute’s Risktaker Award.

He has served on the National Book Awards board of directors, and is currently on the board of directors for the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, the Poetry Society of America and TransAfrica, and is past president of the Mystery Writers of America.

For more information on the free, public event, contact Rebecca Shell, public relations officer, at 419-434-4345.