Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman will present "Prospects for Peace in the Middle East" February 25 at 1:15 p.m. in Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall, on the campus of UNLV.

The speech is the inaugural address in the Peace in the Desert Lecture Series, presented by the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution at UNLV's Boyd School of Law.

Although the event is free and open to the public, tickets are required and are available at the UNLV Performing Arts Center box office. Tickets are limited to two per person.

Since joining the New York Times in 1981, Friedman has won three Pulitzer Prizes for international reporting, the most recent coming in 2002 for his distinguished commentary following the tragedies of 9/11.

Friedman's career has taken him across the globe to report on critical issues and events, including the Israeli invasion of 1982, the final years of the Cold War, the return of Hong Kong to China, and the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

He has also written three New York Times best-sellers, including "From Beirut to Jerusalem," which won the 1989 National Book Award for non-fiction and currently serves as a basic text on the Middle East in many universities.

Friedman currently serves as a foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times, is a member of the Board of Trustees at Brandeis University, and is on the advisory board of the Marshall Scholarship Commission.

The UNLV Performing Arts Center box office is open Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.