MAURICE HINCHEY TO KEYNOTE FIRST ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON HUDSON VALLEY HERITAGE SEPTEMBER 26-27, 1997 SOJOURNER TRUTH'S 200th BIRTHDAY ALSO TO BE CELEBRATED New Paltz, NY ---- Congressman Maurice Hinchey will address the historians, teachers, students, preservationists, and museum professionals assembled to explore new and on-going studies of the Hudson Valley's natural and cultural heritage. The two-day conference has been organized by the Hudson Valley Study Center at SUNY New Paltz to provide an opportunity for those working with local and regional history to interact, share information, and learn what's going on in various fields of endeavor. Neil Larson, the Center's executive director, has announced the conference as a central part of the mission to elevate the status and public recognition of the Hudson Valley's extraordinary historic record and those who have been working to record, preserve, and interpret it. "In a region where the history is so rich and so often cited, it has amazed me that there has not been a regular forum for new work from the field. And so, when we were planning this year's schedule, we decided to go ahead and start one." Larson hopes that the idea will catch on and continue on an annual basis. Now that increasing attention is being drawn to our regional heritage for tourism and economic development, he sees the conference as providing an important point of intersection for historians and planners. Congressman Maurice Hinchey feels the same way. He will be on hand during Saturday's luncheon to give a presentation on the new national heritage area designation that he recently shepherded through Congress, which provides the Hudson Valley with new opportunities and incentives for developing its heritage for educational and economic benefit. SUNY New Paltz's President, Roger W. Bowen, will also be in attendance. Bowen is corresponding with other regional colleges about creating a Hudson Valley Regional Studies Association to collaborate on developing a more comprehensive curriculum for students interested in the Hudson Valley's multifaceted history and present. The anticipated increase of interpretive and economic "packages" for the heritage area will require new data and historical analysis from the academic centers in the region. The conference schedule includes workshops on Friday, September 26, where researchers and historians can hone their field skills and learn new methods, and the presentation of over 30 new studies of the region's natural and cultural heritage on Saturday, September 27. In addition to Saturday's luncheon, a dinner cruise is planned Saturday evening. Throughout the two-day event, there will be programs recognizing the bicentennial of Sojourner Truth's birthday. A panel will discuss her legacy in art, literature, and thought on Friday evening, and a convocation will take place on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney is the featured speaker, andshe will receive an award from the college. Maurice Hinchey will present the Sojourner Truth Library with facsimiles of materials from the Library of Congress relating to its namesake. For more information about the program, events and modest costs of this important conference, call the Hudson Valley Study Center at 914-257-2981 or check out the conference's web pages at <http://www.eelab.newpaltz.edu/hvsc/conference/conference.html>. The Hudson Valley Study Center, located on the campus of State University of New York at New Paltz, promotes a vigorous program for the scholarly exploration of the region's natural and cultural environment. It also acts as a catalyst for improved communication and the exchange of ideas among the academic disciplines, educational institutions, environmental and cultural organizations, and government agencies that are concerned with its heritage and its options for the future.