Economic commentator Louis Rukeyser, host of "Wall $treet Week with Louis Rukeyser," will speak at UNLV on Nov. 29 as part of the Barrick Lecture Series.

"What's Ahead for the Economy" will be the topic of his 7:30 p.m. talk in Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall. The event is free and open to the public. However, tickets must be picked up in advance at the Performing Arts Center box office at Ham Concert Hall. Tickets will be available beginning Nov. 18.

Rukeyser -- the very first Barrick lecturer during the series' debut season in 1981-82 -- returns to UNLV to help celebrate the 15th anniversary season of the Barrick Lecture Series. He gave the first talk in the series on Sept. 22, 1981, in Ham Concert Hall.

The celebration of the series' 15th anniversary will continue throughout the 1995-96 academic year with the return of some of the other speakers from the series' early years. On Jan. 9, liberal economist John Kenneth Galbraith and conservative writer and television host William F. Buckley Jr. are scheduled to debate -- something they also did on Jan. 10, 1983, during the series' second season.

The Barrick Lecture Series, funded through a grant from philanthropist Marjorie Barrick, presents nationally and internationally known speakers from a variety of fields each semester at UNLV. The presentations are always free and open to the public.

Rukeyser, who is known for his lively and insightful commentaries, will kick off the anniversary season Nov. 29.

Although perhaps best known for the weekly television show that has been broadcast on PBS since 1970, Rukeyser's diverse career in journalism has involved not only economic commentary and reporting, but also stints as a political analyst and foreign correspondent.

After graduating in 1954 from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, he spent 11 years as a political and foreign correspondent for the Baltimore Sun newspapers. His positions included chief political correspondent for the Evening Sun, chief of the Sun's London bureau, and chief Asian correspondent for the Sun. His work in Vietnam and throughout Asia won him two top Overseas Press Club prizes for news interpretation.

He then spent eight years at ABC News, beginning as the network's Paris correspondent and then moving on to become chief of its London bureau. Later he moved to New York to become television's first national economic commentator. During that time he also produced a series of radio commentaries for ABC called "Rukeyser's World," which won him the Freedoms Foundation's George Washington Honor Medal.

Among his other awards are a second Freedoms Foundation award for the syndicated newspaper column he wrote until 1993 and a G.M. Loeb Award for his television show.

Rukeyser also is an author, having written such books as "What's Ahead for the Economy: The Challenge and the Chance" and "How to Make Money in Wall Street."

On the lighter side, he has been named by the Fashion Foundation of America as both the best-dressed man in finance and the most sartorially elegant host in America. Additionally, "Playboy" magazine included him on its best-dressed list, describing him as a "rakish raconteur" and a "personal-style knockout."

Rukeyser, who is married and has three daughters, lives in Greenwich, Conn.

For additional information on Rukeyser's appearance at UNLV, call 895-3801.