CHIEF of U.N. MISSION TO BOSNIA WILL ADDRESS 2002 GRADUATES;Former Elmhurst College Student Jacques Paul Klein Returning for Commencement
ELMHURST, Ill., May 10, 2002 - Former Elmhurst College student Jacques Paul Klein, who has since risen to become head of the United Nations' mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, will return to the campus on Sunday, May 26, to address the Elmhurst graduating class of 2002. Klein will receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the College prior to delivering his commencement speech.
Ceremonies will begin at 2:00 p.m. on the College Mall, 190 Prospect Avenue, Elmhurst, and are open to the public. Admission tickets will be required ONLY if events must be moved inside due to inclement weather; the indoor graduation site is R.A. Faganel Hall, 221 Walter Street.
Klein, a 30-year diplomat and leader, has held a variety of posts of increasing responsibility since joining the Foreign Service in 1971. He was promoted to his current role by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1999. Klein's mandate, and that of the U.N. and its 46-nation police task force in Bosnia-Herzegovina, is to contribute to the establishment of the rule of law in that region.
"Jacques Paul Klein has been a leading figure in postwar Croatia and Bosnia for the last seven years, and he has been invaluable in helping to maintain a constructive space for peace," said Dr. Nancy Lee, assistant professor of theology and religion at Elmhurst College. Lee, who is no stranger to Croatia and Bosnia after traveling extensively in the region for years on a Fulbright fellowship, added that "Klein's toughness, combined with his compassion and sense of justice, was instrumental in leading the people of that area through an extremely difficult transition."
In addition to Klein, two other luminaries will be awarded honorary degrees. Dr. David Greenhaw, President of Eden Theological Seminary, and Dr. Sara Peretsky, a critically acclaimed author who was among the first women in her specific genre of fiction writing, will each be honored with a Doctor of Humane Letters degree during Elmhurst College commencement.
Approximately 500 Elmhurst graduates will be awarded Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Music or Bachelor of Liberal Studies degrees at the College's 2002 commencement. This commencement also marks the third year that master's degrees will be conferred by the College; Elmhurst awards the Master of Science in Computer Network Systems, Master of Education in Early Childhood Special Education, Master of Arts in Industrial Organizational/Psychology, Master in Professional Accountancy and Master of Arts in Professional Writing.
For further information, or directions to the Elmhurst College campus, please call (630) 617 -3033, or visit www.elmhurst.edu.
Elmhurst College is a premier comprehensive college in metropolitan Chicago, one of the world's most appealing and important urban regions. For 131 years, the College has sought to prepare students superbly -- for their first jobs, and for lifetimes of personal and professional fulfillment. On a classic campus, in a charming suburb, the College offers students of many ages and backgrounds purposeful learning for the whole of life.
A four-year private college located 16 miles west of downtown Chicago, Elmhurst has approximately 2,700 full-time and part-time students enrolled in its 22 undergraduate academic departments and six graduate degree programs.
Founded in 1871, Elmhurst College is affiliated with the United Church of Christ.
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