Leaders from around the world heading to campus (April 11-13) for Wien program celebration

Apr. 01, 2008

David Nathan
Brandeis University
781-736-4103 or 978-460-0674
dnathan1@brandeis.edu

International leaders from around the world will gather at Brandeis April 11-13 -- but the agenda does not call for discussions of global warming, world hunger, or the growing credit crisis.

Instead, leading statesmen from as far away as Iceland and Japan will come together to mark the 50th anniversary of the pioneering program that brought them to Brandeis as undergraduates and helped provide the foundation for their successful careers in public service.

Attendees at the weekend celebration for the Wien International Scholarship Program include:

•    Geir Haarde ’73, the prime minister of Iceland
•    Dimitrij Rupel ’76, the president of the Council of the European Union and the minister of foreign affairs of Slovenia
•    Haile Menkerios ’70 of Eritrea, the secretary-general for political affairs at the United Nations
•    Wakako Kimoto Hironaka, MA ’64, a longtime member of the House of Councillors of the Japanese Diet (legislature)
•    Shen Tong ’91, who helped organize the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy demonstrations in China
•    Iroka Joseph Udeinya ’76 of Nigeria, who is developing an HIV/AIDS vaccine

In all, nearly 100 Wien Scholars from around the world will return to Brandeis to commemorate the Wien program and honor the late founders, Lawrence and Mae Wien. Many members of the extended Wien family will be in attendance.

A special panel discussion will be held from 2-4 p.m. in the theater in the Shapiro Campus Center.