A reception will be held at 5:30 p.m. in Givens Hall.

Kamin is the author of Why Architecture Matters: Lessons From Chicago, a critically acclaimed collection of his Tribune columns.

LectureWho: Blair Kamin, architecture critic, Chicago TribuneWhat: Sam Fox Arts Center Lecture, "Activist Criticism"Where: Steinberg AuditoriumWhen: 6 p.m. April 28Admission: Free and open to publicA reception will be held at 5:30 p.m. in Givens Hall.For more information, call 935-6200.Paul Goldberger, architectural critic for The New Yorker, noted that, "It is fitting that (Kamin) writes from Chicago, where architecture has always been taken seriously, but his work transcends his own city and earns him a place among the major architecture critics of our time."

Born in Red Bank, N.J., Kamin graduated from Amherst College in 1979 with a bachelor of arts degree and from Yale University's School of Architecture in 1984 with a master of environmental design degree. In 1999, he was a visiting fellow at the Franke Institute for the Humanities at the University of Chicago.

After working as a reporter for The Des Moines Register from 1984-87, Kamin joined the Tribune as a reporter in 1987. He became the newspaper's architecture critic in 1992.

Kamin has lectured widely and has appeared on numerous radio and television programs, including ABC's Nightline and NBC Nightly News.

Kamin has received more than 20 professional awards. In addition to the Pulitzer Prize for criticism, these include the George Polk Award for criticism and the Institute Honor for Collaborative Achievement from the American Institute of Architects. He has twice served as a Pulitzer Prize juror.

The talk and reception are free and open to the public. For more information, call 935-6200.