Illinois State University and Illinois Wesleyan University will co-host the Adlai E. Stevenson Memorial Lecture Series. This academic year, there will be two distinguished speakers: Felipe Calderón, former president of Mexico, and Gro Brundtland, former prime minister of Norway. In tribute to Stevenson’s 1965 pathbreaking speech on issues relevant to the environment, both speakers will address aspects of climate change. Please consider incorporating their visits into your courses or otherwise encouraging student participation.
President Felipe Calderón will deliver his primary address at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 23, 2017, in Westbrook Auditorium at Illinois Wesleyan. There will also be a master class for students at 3 p.m. that same day on the Illinois State University campus. Calderón served as president of Mexico from 2006 to 2012. Previously, he was Mexico’s secretary of energy (and as such chaired the boards of state-owned petroleum and power companies PEMEX and CFE) and director of Banobras (National Bank of Public Works and Services). Currently, he is a member of the Advisory Council of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), member of the Board of the World Resources Institute, and chairman of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate. He has been honored as a world leader on environmental issues, and is founder and president of the Sustainable Human Development Foundation, where he works to analyze and propose viable policy alternatives for Mexico and promote low carbon development alternatives for the world.
Brundtland was forced to reschedule her February 23 talk in Westbrook Auditorium at Illinois Wesleyan, and master class at Illinois State. Additional details will be sent when the talk is rescheduled.
Brundtland was the first female prime minister of Norway, serving three terms (1981, 1986-88, and 1990-1996). In addition, she served as the director-general of the World Health Organization from 1998 to 2003. Brundtland chaired the World Commission on Environment and Development, known as the Brundtland Commission, which popularized the concept of sustainable development in its landmark report, “Our Common Future.” Their recommendations provided the momentum for the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Brundtland has gained international recognition as a leader on key global challenges, the environment, human rights, sustainable development, and global security issues.
The Adlai E. Stevenson Memorial Lecture Series was established by a group of local civic leaders to honor the legacy of Bloomington native Adlai E. Stevenson II, former Illinois Governor and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, after his passing in 1965.
