Drew Levinson

UNC Asheville’s Center for Jewish Studies will host a film screening and discussion with CBS News Correspondent and native North Carolinian Drew Levinson at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13, at UNC Asheville’s Humanities Lecture Hall. Levinson will also give a brief talk on “Telling the Story: A Jewish Correspondent’s Life in the Muslim World.” The event is free and open to the public.

“Lasting Impressions” chronicles Levinson’s story of growing up Jewish in Robeson County, and the surprising way differences were set aside in this small, rural community to build a better life for everyone. The story is not just told by Jews but also by White, Black and American Indian Christian community members.

Levinson, born and raised in Lumberton, graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with a bachelor’s degree in Peace, War and Defense Studies. He has worked as a correspondent for CBS Newspath, the affiliate news service of CBS News, since 1997 covering stories such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Hurricane Katrina. Levinson has traveled to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza to cover the Israeli elections, to Indiana to cover the execution of Oklahoma bomber Timothy McVeigh, and to New York City to report from Ground Zero after September 11.

For more information on the documentary screening and discussion, call UNC Asheville’s Center for Jewish Studies at 828/251-6576.

The screening is part of a week-long series of events celebrating the University, which will culminate with the installation of Anne Ponder as UNC Asheville’s sixth Chancellor. The formal Installation Ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, on the University Quadrangle. For more information about Installation Week events, click on www.unca.edu/installation/.