Building peace in the midst of violence will be the focus of the Hibbert R. Roberts Lecture in Public Policy.

Rabbi Melissa Weintraub will present Warriors, Prophets, Peacemakers and Disciples: Religious Peace Building in the Face of Religious-Inspired Violence at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15, in the Old Main Room atthe Bone Student Center.

The event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Department of Politics and Government, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Sage Foundation and the Office of the Provost.

A native of Bloomington-Normal, Weintraub was the founding director of ENCOUNTER, an internationally recognized organization dedicated to strengthening the capacity of the Jewish people to be agents of change in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A faculty member for the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, Weintraub is a winner of the Grinnell College Young Innovator for Social Justice Prize, which honors leaders under the age of 40 with records of extraordinary accomplishment in effecting positive social change. She was ordained as a conservative rabbi at the Jewish Theological Seminary and graduated from Harvard University with a degree in political theory and women’s studies.

Hibbert R. Roberts was the chair of the Department of Political Science at Illinois State for 22 years, and was an expert in international relations and American foreign policy. The lecture series was established by his family and friends to honor Roberts, who was a mentor, colleague, advocate and friend to faculty and students.

For additional information, contact Department of Political Science Acting Chair T.Y. Wang at 438-7880.