President of IRC to lecture

George Rupp to discuss international affairs

George Rupp, President of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) USA, is the fall speaker for the Great Issues Lecture Program sponsored by The John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding.

As the IRC's chief executive officer, Rupp oversees the agency's relief and rehabilitation operations in 25 countries and its refugee resettlement and assistance programs throughout the United States. His talk is titled "Local Conflicts/Global Challenge: Afghanistan, Sudan (including Darfur) and Congo," and takes place on Wednesday, Sept. 29, at 4:30 p.m. in Filene Auditorium.

Before becoming president of IRC in July 2002 he was the president of Columbia University; the president of Rice University; and the John Lord O'Brian Professor of Divinity and Dean of the Harvard Divinity School. He is the author of numerous articles and four books, including Beyond Existentialism and Zen: Religion in a Pluralistic World and Commitment and Community.

The IRC was founded at the request of Albert Einstein to assist victims of Adolph Hitler. The IRC helps people fleeing racial, religious and ethnic persecution, as well as those uprooted by war and violence. At the outbreak of an emergency, the IRC provides sanitary and life-saving assistance. Once a crisis stabilizes, it sets up training, education and income-generating programs to enable refugees to cope with life in exile. If it's possible for refugees to return home, the IRC helps them return to their homeland. The IRC is a global organization and its staff comprises citizens of some 40 countries. Institutional, government and individual donors from around the world support its work.

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