William F. Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International USA, will speak at the 2004 Exercises of Commencement at Grinnell College on Monday, May 17, 2004.
Honorary degrees will also be presented to Schulz; Mary Sue Wilson Coleman '65, president, University of Michigan; Frances Moore Lappé, author, "Diet for a Small Planet" ; and Dr. Debhanom Muangman '58, public health physician, administrator, and researcher
Schulz, who, according to the New York Review of Books, "has done more than anyone in the American human rights movement to make human rights issues known in the United States," will speak at 10 a.m. at the central campus.
An ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, Schulz came to Amnesty after serving for 15 years with the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA), the last eight as president. He was involved in a wide variety of social justice causes around the world.
During his years with Amnesty, Schulz has traveled extensively, both in the United States and abroad. In 1997 he led a mission to Liberia to investigate wartime atrocities. He traveled to Northern Ireland to insist that human rights protections be incorporated into the peace process.
From 1985 to 1993, Schulz was on the Council of the International Association for Religious Freedom, the world's oldest international interfaith organization. He has been outspoken in his opposition to the death penalty and in his support for women's rights, gay and lesbian rights, and racial justice.
He has published widely, including "In Our Own Best Interests: How Defending Human Rights Benefits Us All" (2001; Beacon Press). His newest book is "Tainted Legacy: 9/11 and the Ruin of Human Rights," (2003; Nation Books).
Schulz frequently appears on radio and television, including such national news programs as 60 Minutes, 20/20, The Today Show, All Things Considered, Talk of the Nation, and Nightline.
He taught a seminar on the role of religion in international social and political conflict at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Among his many honors are the 2002 Human Rights Award from the Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, and the Harry S. Truman Award for International Leadership from the Kansas City, Mo., United Nations Association. He was also named one of the "World's 365 Most Influential People" by The Pray 365 Project.
William Schulz is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Oberlin College, holds a master's degree in philosophy from the University of Chicago, and a doctor of ministry degree from Meadville/Lombard Theological School at the University of Chicago.
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