048 ‘ORDINARY MAN’ IS EXTRAORDINARY SPEAKER AT MTSU

‘ORDINARY MAN’ IS EXTRAORDINARY SPEAKER AT MTSU

Sunday Convocation to Feature Address by Rwandan Author/Activist

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 21, 2007
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina E. Fann, 615-898-5385 or gfann@mtsu.edu

(MURFREESBORO)—He calls himself an “ordinary man,” but author and activist Paul Rusesabagina’s extraordinary accomplishments will bring him to MTSU Sunday, Aug. 26, to help mark the beginning of the 2007-08 academic year at the University Convocation.

Rusesabagina, a native of Rwanda, saved 1,268 of his countrymen during a 100-day siege of genocidal madness in 1994 that left nearly 1 million people dead. The hotel manager turned the luxurious Hotel Milles Collines into a refuge for Tutsi and moderate Hutus while fending off their would-be killers with a combination of diplomacy and deception.

The rest of the world learned more about Rusesabagina in the 2004 film “Hotel Rwanda,” which was nominated for three Academy Awards.

“For our university community to have the opportunity to hear Mr. Rusesabagina, an ‘ordinary man’ with an extraordinary heart, at our annual Convocation is a blessing indeed,” MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee said of the 2 p.m. event at Murphy Center.

“This ceremony is an assemblage and a celebration of who we are as a university and what we can accomplish together, and I can think of few people who epitomize that spirit of determination—of one person whose choices can help change the world—than this good man. We look forward to learning from him, as well as each other, in this new academic year.”

The University Convocation welcomes new students into the MTSU learning community. Faculty march in their regalia to dramatic compositions performed by the MTSU Band of Blue, and the traditions and rituals of the university are explained to the newest members of the MTSU family.

Rusesabagina’s autobiography, An Ordinary Man, is MTSU’s 2007 Summer Reading Selection. The Summer Reading Program, created in 2002, aims to provide a unifying experience for entering freshmen, give them the opportunity to read and interact with acclaimed authors and affirm the importance of reading for a successful and fulfilling life.

In the book, Rusesabagina tells the story of his childhood, retraces his accidental path to heroism, revisits the 100 days in which he was the only thing standing between his “guests” and a hideous death, and recounts his subsequent life as a refugee and activist, working to uphold his vow, “Never again.”

A recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Civil Rights Museum’s 2005 Freedom Award, he now lives in Brussels, Belgium, with his family.

The University Convocation is free and open to the public. First-year students are expected to attend; their families and members of the MTSU and Murfreesboro communities are welcome to attend. Call 615-898-2454 for more information, or visit www.mtsunews.com.

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IN BRIEF: Author and activist Paul Rusesabagina, whose heroic actions during the 100-day Rwandan genocide in 1994 inspired the Academy Award-nominated film “Hotel Rwanda,” is the guest speaker at MTSU’s annual Convocation on Sunday, Aug. 26, at 2 p.m. in Murphy Center on Middle Tennessee Boulevard. The event, which is free and open to the public, is an annual ceremony welcoming new students into the MTSU learning community. For more information, call 615-898-2454.

For MTSU news and information, visit www.mtsunews.com.

MTSU CONVOCATION

NOTE: Media needing a color TIFF file of Rusesabagina’s book cover, which includes a headshot of the author, should contact the Office of News and Public Affairs via e-mail at gfann@mtsu.edu or by calling 615-898-5385. Thanks!

SPECIAL NOTE FOR BROADCAST MEDIA: The author’s name, Rusesabagina, is pronounced Roo-SESS-eh-bah-GEE-nah, with a hard G.

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