Seymour P. Lachman The Honorable Seymour P. Lachman, former New York State senator and former Adelphi distinguished visiting professor, will discuss his new book, Three Men in a Room: The Inside Story of Power and Betrayal in an American Statehouse, on Thursday, September 28, at 12:00 p.m. in Adelphi University's Alumni House, 154 Cambridge Avenue, Garden City, NY. The lecture is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. Copies of Three Men in a Room will be available for purchase and can be signed by Senator Lachman immediately following the program.

Three Men in a Room examines the perils of legislative dysfunction in state politics, with a particular focus on Albany, one of the country's largest and most powerful governments which became a model of corruption and inefficiency. Senator Lachman, who served four terms as a New York State Senator, draws on his own experiences, as well as those of Mario Cuomo and Eliot Spitzer to provide a behind the scenes look into U.S. state governments. New Yorkers' votes don't matter, he contends, because in the New York State Legislature, "just three men hold virtually all the cards; the Governor, the Speaker, and the Majority Leader."

Elected to the New York State Senate in 1996, Senator Lachman served as the ranking Democratic member of the Transportation Committee and member of numerous committees, including Education, Higher Education, Finance, Aging, Consumer Protection, Children and Families, Crime Victims, and Crime and Correction. He represented portions of Brooklyn and the North and East Shore communities of Staten Island.

Prior to joining the Senate, Senator Lachman had a distinguished career in education, serving in various administrative positions at the City University of New York and as president of the New York City Board of Education from 1969 to 1974. Among his significant policy accomplishments as president of the newly created New York City Board of Education were codifying the rights and responsibilities of high school students, establishing the confidentiality of student records, drawing lines for local school districts, and creating an appeals process for the central Board of Education. Upon leaving the Board, he was appointed professor of educational administration at the City University of New York's (CUNY) Baruch College, and later became special deputy to the president at CUNY's Brooklyn College, and CUNY's university dean for community development.

He holds a Ph.D. from New York University, and an M.A. and B.A. from Brooklyn College.

To register for this event, please call the Office of Public Affairs at (516) 877-3693. For more information about this and other events on campus, please visit www.adelphi.edu.