Honors Bhatia Lecture March 6 by Alumna and U.S. Ambassador Leslie V. Rowe
PULLMAN, Wash.—The Washington State University Honors College welcomes alumna and U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Mozambique Leslie V. Rowe to present the V.N. Bhatia Lecture at 4 p.m. Saturday, March 6, in the Smith Center for Undergraduate Education, room 203.
“Ambassador Rowe will discuss ‘The Challenge of Diplomacy in a Complex World,’ a topic she is well familiar with as a career diplomat,” says Libby Walker, dean of the Honors College. “This tenth V.N. Bhatia Lecture takes place during the 50th Anniversary year of Honors at WSU, and we are very certain that Dr. Bhatia would be both pleased and honored to have Ms. Rowe speak at a lecture named for him and on a topic of international importance.”
Bhatia led the then Honors Program for 30 years, and was also very involved in international education at WSU.
Rowe graduated with a bachelor’s degree in foreign languages from WSU and Honors in 1969, and earned master’s degrees at Tufts University and Northeastern University before entering the U.S. Foreign Service program in 1983. Prior to her new assignment in Mozambique, she was ambassador to Papua New Guinea, deputy chief of mission at the American Embassy in Kenya, and consul general in Thailand. She also served posts in Portugal, Chile, Brazil, and Costa Rica.
Her visit to Pullman for the anniversary celebrations brings her, literally, half way round the world. The Bhatia Lecture is open to the public at no charge.
It is the final event of two days of anniversary activities for Honors alumni and guests. Two other sets of free events are also open to the public on Saturday, March 6. From 10:30 a.m. until noon in Honors Hall on the northwest edge of campus, three Honors students will talk about their research, including …
- Leah Jordan, a genetics and cell biology and music major discussing posture and trumpet playing
- Merik Metos, a zoology student (now in WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine) describing how her French heritage and an unopened book from the WSU Libraries led to her thesis on a “vanishing” Pope
- Julian Reyes, a chemical engineering student detailing his senior design project on integrative frameworks for management.
From 1:30-3:30 p.m., current and former Honors faculty will also offer fascinating presentations, including …
- Jane Lawrence, former Honors director, on “Reflections on Life after Pullman”
- Catherine Bicknell, emeritus faculty and artist, presenting “Out of the Box” focusing on her work in the world of art
- Jeffrey Franks, alumnus and economist who is the mission chief to Romania at the International Monetary Fund, discussing “Another Fine Mess” about what caused the global economic crisis and how it can be fixed
- Birgitta Ingemanson, professor and endowed chairholder in Russian and authoress, on “From Russia with Love: Life’s Hidden Songs.”
The Honors College would like to properly plan for its guests at the Bhatia Lecture, and the student and faculty presentations, and so requests that those planning to attend any events go to the website at honors.wsu.edu/50thanniversary to register to attend. There is no cost for any of the events, and the public is warmly invited to all.
For more information, or to pose questions, visit honors.wsu.edu/50thanniversary as soon as possible.
CONTACT: Beverly Makhani, Communications Director, WSU Honors College, 509-335-6679, makhani@wsu.edu
Libby Walker, Dean, WSU Honors College, 509-335-4505, walkerl@wsu.edu