Free and open to the public, Kristof will present “Rebuilding America,” an in-depth look at how economic and social upheaval has prevented millions from achieving the American dream and how people are working together to rebuild upward mobility.“We are honored to host one of the world’s preeminent journalists and renowned voices of equality and the modern human condition,” Deena Mansour, executive director of the center, said. “Kristof’s writings on the diverse issues plaguing humanitarian efforts, women and working-class people have challenged the way we think and respond to the most important conversations of our time.”
Mansour said the annual Mansfield Lecture has been revived after a decades-long hiatus.
Given our shared interests in ethics in public affairs and international engagement, Nicholas Kristof is the ideal candidate to revive this community event,” she said. “We are proud to reinstitute the great tradition of the Mansfield Lectures.”
In addition to his lecture, Kristof will meet with an audience of 500 Hellgate High School students, as well as UM students and faculty in the School of Journalism. The Mansfield Center purchased a copy of Kristof’s recent book, “Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope,” for each student.
“Tightrope” explores the deep structural issues in the U.S. that have negatively impacted Americans’ mental health, substance abuse rates and access to health care ─ issues that have devastated many communities. Kristof offers new ways to address these issues, including job retraining and early education for disadvantaged children to rebuild the American dream.
A journalist for the New York Times, Kristof has covered presidential politics and interviewed leaders including President Obama to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In 1990, Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, won a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of China’s Tiananmen Square democracy movement. Kristof won his second Pulitzer for his work documenting the genocide in Darfur. The duo have authored four bestselling books, including “Half the Sky,” “A Path Appears,” “China Wakes” and “Thunder from the East.”
Kristof’s lecture is one of several activities designed by the Mansfield Center to bring prominent thought leaders to campus and the Missoula community within its mission to foster globally minded leaders of integrity.
More information is available at www.umt.edu/mansfield.
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