International Figures Come to NYU in Fall 2008

The streets around Washington Square are always crowded when fall semester begins, but the last few weeks have been especially busy as a stream of international figures came to speak at NYU. Below is a sampling of some of the many individuals who have contributed to NYU’s ongoing global conversations.

Leading with Compassion

Queen Noor of Jordan; Rabbi Irwin Kula;
Sakyong Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche
    
In a groundbreaking dialogue, entitled “Compassionate Leadership: Cultivating the Leaders of Tomorrow,” three influential leaders (clockwise from top left)—Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan; Rabbi Irwin Kula, author of the award-winning book, Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life, and president of the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership; and the Sakyong, Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche, a prominent Tibetan Buddhist lama—addressed the challenge in a public talk. Probing their own traditions and experiences, they examined how their different paths can contribute to a shared vision of interdependence and global connection.  
    The event was held Sept. 24 in the Skirball Center and was hosted by President John Sexton; Ellen Schall, dean and Martin Cherkasky Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service; and Wagner’s Research Center for Leadership in Action. To view a Webcast of the event, visit www.wagner.nyu.edu/leadership/news/.

Security in the Balkans

Bamir Topi,
president of Albania
    
Topi delivered an address, “The Albanian National Questions and Security in the Balkans,” on Sept. 25 in the Jurow Lecture Hall. Topi, elected president of the Republic of Albania in 2007 and an advocate for the independence of Kosovo, previously served as Albania’s minister of agriculture and food and was deputy chairman of the country’s democratic party.
    The event was sponsored by NYU’s Wilf Family Department of Politics.

The Next President’s Foreign Policy Inbox

David Miliband, secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs, United Kingdom

Miliband (standing) addressed the question, “What should be in the next U.S. president’s foreign policy inbox?” on Sept. 25 in the School of Law’s Greenberg Lounge. He previously served as secretary of state at the Department for Food, Environment, and Rural Affairs as well as minister of communities and local government and minister of state for schools. The 43-year-old has been a member of Parliament since 2001.
    The event was sponsored by the Office of President John Sexton and included a Q&A with Norman Dorsen (seated), Frederick I. and Grace A. Stokes Professor of Law at NYU.

Immigration Studies@NYU

Margarita Zavala, first lady of Mexico
    
Zavala, center, a former congresswoman in Mexico, visited the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development’s Immigration Studies@NYU on Sept. 24 for an update on the program’s research initiatives focusing on Mexican families in the United States. The event was hosted by Marcelo Suarez-Orozco, left, University Professor and the Courtney Sale Ross University Professor of Globalization and Education and Steinhardt Dean Mary Brabeck, right.

The Globalization of Peace

Shimon Peres, president of Israel
    
Peres, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, delivered an address, “The Globalization of Peace,” on Sept. 25 in Vanderbilt Hall’s Tishman Auditorium. Peres, who served under David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, in several roles, is the ninth president of the State of Israel. He was prime minister on two different occasions and was once acting prime minister. He has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years. In 1996, he founded the Peres Center for Peace, whose mission is to help build an infrastructure for peace and reconciliation by and for the people of the Middle East.
    The event was sponsored by NYU’s Taub Center for Israel Studies.