For Immediate Release

O.D. McKee Chair Of Excellence in Dyslexia
        HENRY WINKLER WILL DEDICATE NEW UTC CHAIR JAN. 14

Actor Henry Winkler will be the keynote speaker Thursday, Jan. 14, at 3
p.m. at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's official dedication of
the O.D. McKee Chair of Excellence in Dyslexia and Associated Learning
Differences.
        The dedication ceremony is free and open to the public.
        Although best known for his role as "the Fonz" in the popular
sitcom "Happy Days,"  Winkler travels the country sharing with others the
challenges he has faced over the years with dyslexia.
        Dyslexia is a learning difference that is often characterized by an
inability to recognize and comprehend written words.  The diagnosed
condition does not affect intelligence, in fact, most diagnosed with
dyslexia are considered gifted and quite talented.
        The new Chairholder will be responsible for "teaching the teachers"
at UTC and across the nation, disseminating effective compensatory
techniques for accommodating dyslexia and other learning styles, such as
attention deficit disorder, said UTC Chancellor Bill Stacy.  A nationwide
search is underway to fill the professorship.  University officials hope
the program will be up and running by next fall.
        Half of the $1 million funding comes from the UT system's Chairs of
Excellence program, and the other half was donated by the family of the
late O.D. McKee,  founder of the McKee Foods Corporation, Inc., maker of
Little Debbie snack cakes and Hamilton County's biggest private employer.
        McKee, an extremely intelligent individual, experienced dyslexia
and learned to deal with hidden learning differences that strengthened his
diligence and dynamic motivation to academically achieve beyond even his
own expectations.  Later in life, O.D. openly shared his experiences of
what is now recognized as dyslexia.   In 1993 his family established the
O.D. McKee Center for Dyslexic Studies in the College Access Program at UTC.
                 For more information, call 785-2202.

Barbara J. Kennedy
News Coordinator
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
423-755-4363 (phone)
423-755-5299 (fax)