Heather Mangan

Students will get the chance to listen to a former president speak. The former president of Ireland, that is.

Mary Robinson, the first woman president of Ireland, will give a lecture Wednesday 8 p.m. in the Larson Memorial Concert Hall of the Performing Arts Center.

Robinson’s lecture is entitled “Human Rights and Ethical Globalization.” She will discuss women’s issues and international human rights with students Thursday at 9:45 in Rotunda F. Although she is talking to a sociology of gender roles class, any student may come to listen to President Robinson said Dr. Robert Burns, head of Political Science department and head of the SDSU Honors College.

The SDSU Honors College is the university activity that is sponsoring Robinson’s lecture, but her speech is a part of the Griffith Honors Forum Lecture Series and funded by the Griffith Organization. The series has brought many well known, intelligent, fascinating people to State and President Robinson is no exception said Burns.

“[Robinson] continues the tradition of the Griffith lectures,” he said.

SDSU President Peggy Miller was the one who was successful in bringing Robinson to SDSU Burns said.

Burns also said they are very glad the lecture will be held in the Performing Arts Center. The larger hall will allow more members of the SDSU and Brookings communities to attend the lecture.

Robinson was president of Ireland from 1990-1997. In that time, she developed Ireland’s cultural and political links to other countries.

She also placed much emphasis on developing countries and worked to build a bridge between developed and developing countries. She also concentrated on human rights.

“She was able to move certain policies about human rights,” said Burns.

After her presidency, she was the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights until 2002. She involved human rights into many of the United Nations activities.

Currently living in New York, she is the head of the Ethical Globalization Institute. The project is working to bring the norms and standards of human rights into the globalization process and the government of developing countries.