BLACKSBURG, Va., Oct. 14, 2010 – Ramsey Clark, former U.S. attorney general and prominent figure on the modern international stage, will give his perspectives on peace in a speech at Virginia Tech on Oct. 28. The speech is free and open to the public.
Clark is known for advancing moral and legal arguments to promote the human-rights advocacy that has been his theme since he founded the International Action Center in 1992.
“During a time when delicate negotiations are taking place across the world to settle longstanding disputes, it will be enlightening to hear from a man who has dedicated much of his life’s work to the achievement of peace,” said Vice President for Outreach and International Affairs John Dooley.
The speech is at 7 p.m. at the Holtzman Alumni Center’s Alumni Assembly Hall. Free parking is available at the Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center, situated at the corner of West Campus Drive and Prices Fork Road.
Clark served in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1945 and 1946. He was attorney general under President Lyndon B. Johnson and was active in keeping order throughout the south as schools and colleges desegregated.
Clark has criticized the foreign policy of administrations from both political parties for leading the United States into more “foreign aggressive actions than any other country in the world.”
Clark is a longtime opponent of U.S. military actions in Iraq.
Virginia Tech's Outreach and International Affairs and Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention are the speech’s sponsors.
Clark will be able to combine his appearance at Virginia Tech with a personal visit. His granddaughter, Whitney Clark, is a Virginia Tech senior from Annandale, Va., majoring in geography in the College of Natural Resources and Environment.
Virginia Tech’s Outreach and International Affairs supports the university’s engagement mission by creating community partnerships and economic development projects, offering professional development programs and technical assistance, and building collaborations to enrich discovery and learning – all with the overarching goal of improving the quality of life for people within the commonwealth and throughout the world. Outreach and International Affairs leads Virginia Tech’s presence on five continents; its regional research and development centers across the commonwealth focus on graduate education and professional development. Blacksburg-based centers are dedicated to student engagement, language, policy, and governance.