Distinguished Lecture Series

Joan B. Kroc Distinguished Lecture Series

The Joan B. Kroc Distinguished Lecture Series is a forum for high-level national and international leaders and policy makers to share their knowledge and perspectives on issues related to peace and justice. Designed to broaden our understanding and thinking about how to prevent and resolve conflict and promote peace with justice, the series is made possible by a generous endowment from the late Joan B. Kroc.


  Audience listening to distinguished lecturer Peace & Justice Theatre IPJ Rotunda The Garden of the Sea at night Audience in Peace & Justice Theatre

The Distinguished Lecture Series offers the community at large an opportunity to engage with today’s leaders who are working to forge new dialogues with parties in conflict and who seek to answer the question of how to create an enduring peace for tomorrow. With the world confronting a genocide in Sudan, with security concerns restricting civil rights in countries around the world, and with innocent civilians, especially women and children, facing continuing assaults on their rights as defined by the UN's Declaration of Human Rights, distinguished speakers throughout the year will address the impact of human rights issues on conflict prevention and resolution.

Latest Lecture

Dr. Paul Farmer Development: Creating Sustainable Justice: Dr. Paul Farmer, Co-Founder of Partners In Health and United Nations Deputy Special Envoy to Haiti. Biography

Past Lectures

Louise Arbour

Louise Arbour
Former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights
"Integrating Security, Development and Human Rights"

Hanan Ashrawi Hanan Ashrawi
Secretary General - Palestinian Initiative for Global Dialogue and Democracy
"Concept, Context, and Process in Peacemaking: The Palestinian-Israeli Experience"
Lloyd Axworthy The Honorable Lloyd Axworthy
President of University of Winnipeg and Former Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
"The Responsibility to Protect: Prescription for a Global Public Domain"
Dr. Helen Caldicott Dr. Helen Caldicott
President of Nuclear Policy Research Institute
"New Nuclear Danger"
Shirin Ebadi Shirin Ebadi
2003 Nobel Peace Laureate
"Iran Awakening: Human Rights, Women and Islam"
Dr. Robert Edgar Dr. Robert Edgar
General Secretary of National Council of Churches
"The Role of the Church in U.S. Foreign Policy Today"
Jan Egeland Jan Egeland
Former Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and
Emergency Relief Coordinator for the U.N.
"War, Peace and Climate Change: A Billion Lives in the Balance"
Ambassador Jan Eliasson Ambassador Jan Eliasson
Former Special Envoy of the U.N. Secretary-General for Darfur and
Former U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs
"Armed Conflict: The Cost to Civilians"
Gareth Evans The Honorable Gareth Evans
President and CEO of the International Crisis Group and
Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia  
"Preventing Mass Atrocities: Making 'Never Again' a Reality"
Richard Goldstone Justice Richard Goldstone
Former Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia & Rwanda
"Preventing Deadly Conflict"
Jane Goodall Jane Goodall
Founder of Jane Goodall Institute and U.N. Messenger of Peace
"Reason for Hope"
Priscilla Hayner Priscilla Hayner
Co-Founder of the International Center for Transitional Justice 
"International Strides for Inclusive Peacebuilding"
Noeleen Heyzer Noeleen Heyzer
Executive Director of U.N. Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
"Women, War, and Peace: Mobilizing for Security and Justice in the 21st Century"
Christopher Hill Ambassador Christopher R. Hill
Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
"U.S. Policy in East Asia and the Pacific"
Ketumile Masire His Excellency Ketumile Masire
Former President of the Republic of Botswana
"Perspective into Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and
Contemporary Peacebuilding Efforts"
Miria Matembe Miria Matembe
Co-founder of Action for Development
"Women, War, Peace: Politics in Peacebuilding"
Lt. General Joseph Olorungbon Owonibi Lt. General Joseph Olorungbon Owonibi
Former Force Commander of the U.N. Mission in Liberia
"International Strides for Inclusive Peacebuilding"
Alma Viviana Perez Alma Viviana Pérez
Consultant to the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
"Women, War, Peace: Politics in Peacebuilding"
Mary Robinson Mary Robinson
Former President of Ireland and U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights
"Human Rights and Ethical Globalization"
Kenneth Roth Kenneth Roth
Executive Director of Human Rights Watch 
"The Dynamics of Human Rights and the Environment"
Irene Santiago Irene Santiago
Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the Mindanao Commission on Women and
Co-founder of the Mothers for Peace Movement in the Philippines
"Women, War, Peace: Politics in Peacebuilding"
William Schulz William F. Schulz
Executive Director of Amnesty International USA
"Tainted Legacy: 9/11 and the Ruin of Human Rights"
Donald Steinberg Ambassador Donald K. Steinberg
Director of the Joint Policy Council of the U.S. Department of State
"Conflict, Gender and Human Rights: Lessons from the Field"
General Zinni General Anthony C. Zinni
United States Marine Corps (retired)
"From the Battlefield to the Negotiating Table: Preventing Deadly Conflict"