LEADING ORGANIZATIONS AND UNIVERSITIES TO JOIN
“MILTON FRIEDMAN DAY” CELEBRATIONS ON JANUARY 29, 2007

Think Tanks and Business, Media and Academic Institutions Will Support
The Effort to Honor the Influential Economist and His Life’s Work

Chicago, Illinois – January 17, 2007 – A wide variety of academic institutions and economic organizations will host services and events on “Milton Friedman Day” – January 29, 2007 – to celebrate the life of the Nobel Prize-winning economist.  These groups will join the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the University of Chicago, Free To Choose Media, and The Economist – those already dedicated to discussing Friedman’s work and ideas, and examining their impact on U.S. and world economies and free markets around the globe.  “Milton Friedman Day”, which was first declared by the City Council of Chicago, also marks the premiere of the PBS documentary special, “The Power of Choice: The Life and Ideas of Milton Friedman”.

Organizations hosting services, special events and online activities for “Milton Friedman Day” include: the American Economics Association, Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, the Manhattan Institute, The Heartland Institute, The Milton & Rose D. Friedman Foundation, the Association of Private Enterprise Educators, Cascade Policy Institute, the Fund for American Studies, the Minaret of Freedom Institute, Atlas Economic Research Foundation, Acton Institute, Economic Thinking, Reason Foundation and Alabama Policy Institute, as well as several universities including Rutgers, Florida State, San Jose State and Central Tennessee State.  A schedule of events, also posted on www.miltonfriedmanday.org, follows:

January 22, 2007 – Hoover Institution Memorial Service – Stanford, CA
An invitation-only memorial service for Dr. Friedman will take place at Stanford University’s Memorial Hall at 4:00pm PT.  Secretary of State George Shultz will be a featured speaker.

January 25 - 29, 2007 – The Economist – Online Discussion
The Economist’s blog, Free Exchange, will host an online discussion with prominent economists and political leaders from around the world on the legacy of the late Milton Friedman, beginning on January 25 through January 29. Free Exchange visitors will have the opportunity to read postings from these guest bloggers and post their own responses, reactions and questions about the impact of Dr. Friedman’s work.
For more on this online event visit: www.economist.com/debate/freeexchange/index.cfm.

January 29, 2007 – University of Chicago Memorial Service – Chicago, IL
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the University of Chicago will host a memorial service at the university’s Rockefeller Chapel to honor the Nobel prize-winning economist’s impact on the economy and spread of freedom.
For more on this event visit: www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/07/070108.friedman.shtml.

January 29, 2007 – PBS Premiere of “The Power of Choice: The Life and Ideas of Milton Friedman”
PBS premieres the 90-minute special, “The Power of Choice: The Life and Ideas of Milton Friedman,” an exclusive documentary on the remarkable life and visionary ideas of the 1976 Nobel Laureate in economics. Produced for PBS by Free to Choose Media, the program will give viewers a new understanding of the magnitude of this legendary economist’s influence on the modern world. More on this PBS program is available at: www.freetochoosemedia.org.
January 29, 2007 – Manhattan Institute Panel Discussion – New York, NY
The Institute will host a panel discussion and keynote address from 10am – 2pm/ET. The Wall Street Journal will co-sponsor the event. For more on this event visit: www.manhattan-institute.org.

January 29, 2007 – “Day of National Debate”
As the centerpiece of Milton Friedman Day, universities and institutions across the country are being asked to participate in a “Day of National Debate”.  Friedman’s ideas will be explored as students discuss the role of free markets in the economic growth that has improved people’s lives and expanded business opportunities worldwide.  Students will also debate the relationship of the economic freedom Friedman espoused to the flourishing of personal and political freedom. A syllabus of debate and discussion topics has been created by the University of Chicago and can be found at:
www.miltonfriedmanday.org/docs/milton_friedman_day_syllabus.pdf.

January, 29, 2007 – Cascade Policy Institute – Portland, OR
The Cascade Institute has committed to be the sponsor of “The Power of Choice: The Life and Ideas of Milton Friedman” on all seven Oregon PBS affiliates and will distribute several notices and mailings to their constituents about the premiere of the documentary on January 29.  For more on these activities visit: www.cascadepolicy.org/?page_id=312.

January 29, 2007 – The Fund for American Studies – Washington, DC
The Fund for American Studies will host a private viewing party for the premiere of the PBS special, and will highlight the program on their website, www.tfas.org.

January 29, 2007 – Minaret of Freedom Institute – Bethesda, MD
The Institute will host a "Brown Bag Lunch" presentation at 12pm, during which Dr. Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad will lead discussions on the role Islamic civilization played in establishing non-state schools and colleges through the civil society sector, and the controversy over such institutions today. The Institute is also planning a follow-up event which may be co-hosted by Georgetown University.  For more on the organization, visit www.minaret.org.

January 29, 2007 – Atlas Economic Research Foundation – Arlington, VA
Atlas President Alejandro Chafuen will host a private viewing of the PBS premiere of “The Power of Choice: The Life and Ideas of Milton Friedman” and will promote the program’s premiere on their website, www.atlasusa.org.

January, 29, 2007 – Acton Institute – Grand Rapids, MI
Robert Sirico, president of the Acton Institute, will promote the PBS premiere on their website, www.acton.org and in their widely distributed organization newsletter.

January 29, 2007 – Economic Thinking – Seattle, WA
Program Director Greg Rehmke will host several student, parent and teacher workshops, with approximately 100 expected participants, to discuss Milton Friedman’s ideas and influence.  For more, visit www.economicthinking.org.

In addition, during their annual meeting on January 6, in Chicago Illinois, The American Economics Association held a reception and screening of clips from the PBS special, “The Power of Choice: The Life and Ideas of Milton Friedman”, at Chicago’s Hyatt Hotel.  The event was sponsored by the University of Chicago, and Phil Reny, Chairman of the Economics Department, hosted the event. Gary Becker, University of Chicago Professor and Nobel Prize- winning economist, and Robert Chitester, executive producer of the PBS documentary, discussed Friedman’s life and ideas during the reception.

To find out more about Milton Friedman Day and “The Power of Choice: The Life and Ideas of Milton Friedman”, please visit www.freetochoosemedia.org or www.miltonfriedmanday.org.

About CME
Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. became the first publicly traded U.S. financial exchange on Dec. 6, 2002.  The company was added to the S&P 500® Index on August 10, 2006, and the Russell 1000® Index on July 1, 2003. It is the parent company of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (www.cme.com), the largest and most diverse financial exchange in the world.  As an international marketplace, CME brings together buyers and sellers on its CME Globex electronic trading platform and on its trading floors.  CME offers futures and options on futures primarily in interest rates, equities, foreign exchange and commodities.  The exchange managed $43.3 billion in collateral deposits at September 30, 2006, including $4.8 billion in deposits for non-CME products. 

About the University of Chicago
Founded by John D. Rockefeller, the University of Chicago is a private, nondenominational, coeducational institution of higher learning. The University places particular emphasis at the graduate level on training students for careers in academia and research. The undergraduate program focuses on critical thinking and broad interdisciplinary exposure to the full range of intellectual discovery. More than 70 recipients of the Nobel Prize have been researchers, students or faculty members at the University.

About Free To Choose Media
“The Power of Choice: The Life and Ideas of Milton Friedman”was produced by Free to Choose Media, a non-profit 501-c-3 public foundation whose mission is to use easily understood and entertaining popular media to reach inquisitive minds regarding the value and interrelationship of personal, economic and political freedom sustained by the rule of law. The challenge for the 21st Century and beyond is to find ways to avoid the classic failure of the self governed to retain awareness of the necessary conditions for the survival of their freedom and prosperity.

About The Economist (www.economist.com) 
The Economist is a weekly magazine offering timely reporting, concise commentary and comprehensive analysis of global news. With objective authority, clarity and wit, The Economist presents the world's political, business, scientific, technological and cultural affairs and the connections between them. Because of its global editorial perspective, it is read by more of the world's political and business leaders than any other magazine. Edited in London since 1843, The Economist has a worldwide print circulation in excess of 1.1 million.

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