[339] MTSU Welcomes Anti-Genocide Activist, Humanitarian

FOR RELEASE: March 26, 2012
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

MTSU WELCOMES ANTI-GENOCIDE ACTIVIST, HUMANITARIAN
Rwanda Civil War Survivor Carl Wilkens Speaks of Terrifying Brutality

MURFREESBORO—Carl Wilkens, the only American who chose to stay in Rwanda when the country’s civil war erupted in April 1994, will speak at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 28, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of MTSU’s Business and Aerospace Building.

Wilkens is the founder of Spokane-based “World Outside My Shoes,” which is “a nonprofit educational and professional development organization committed to inspiring and equipping people to enter the world of ‘the other,’” according to its website, www.worldoutsidemyshoes.org.

The former head of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency International, Wilkens has received the Dignitas Humana Award from Saint John’s School of Theology Seminary and a 2005 Medal of Valor from the Simon Wiesenthal Center for his work.

He has been interviewed for “The Few Who Stayed: Defying Genocide,” an American Radio Works documentary that aired on National Public Radio; “Ghosts of Rwanda,” a “Frontline” documentary that aired on PBS television; “BBC Newshour;” “The Windsor Star;” and “The New York Times,” among others.

This event is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by the MTSU College of Liberal Arts, the Distinguished Lecture Fund, the MTSU Department of Political Science, the Student Government Association and ROTARACT.

For more information, contact Dr. Karen Petersen at 615-494-8662 or karen.petersen@mtsu.edu.



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