Pulitzer Prize-Winning Co-Author of 'Half the Sky' to Speak at Webster University Sept. 13

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Sheryl WuDunn, who co-wrote "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide" (Knopf, 2009), will speak at Webster University, Monday, Sept. 13, at 7:30 p.m. in the Loretto-Hilton Center. The event is free and open to the public and kicks off Webster's third "Year of International Human Rights (YIHR)."

WuDunn will discuss "Half the Sky," a bestseller and an international call-to-action for investment in the health and autonomy of women and girls. WuDunn, a former New York Times reporter, editor and executive, co-wrote the book with her husband Nicholas. D. Kristof, a columnist at The Times. Following the book's success, the couple also launched a multi-media effort that includes an online social action campaign, a documentary series and a television special. WuDunn worked at The New York Times as an editor for international markets, energy and industry; as The Times’ first anchor of an evening news headlines program for a digital cable television channel, the Discovery-Times; in management roles in strategic planning and circulation; and as a foreign correspondent for The Times in Tokyo and Beijing, where she wrote about economic, financial, political and social issues. The couple has also co-authored two other best-selling books about Asia: "Thunder from the East" and "China Wakes." WuDunn won a Pulitzer Prize with her husband for covering China, along with the Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Lifetime Achievement. She has also won other journalism prizes, including the George Polk Award and Overseas Press Club Awards. WuDunn was honored for Half the Sky in 2010 with the Beacon Award from the White House Project, a nonpartisan organization that seeks to advance women’s leadership in all communities and sectors. WuDunn is a graduate from Cornell University with an MBA from Harvard Business School and an MPA from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School.

About the Webster University Year of International Human Rights

Webster University's YIHR spotlights human rights issues and awareness through the annual series of films, exhibits, academic lectures and conferences and other events and activities. This year's focus on women's rights marks the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, March 8, 2011, and the 90th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave U.S. women the right to vote on August 18, 1920.  Previous YIHR themes were the right to food and water and the inaugural year, which honored the 60th anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

According to David Carl Wilson, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, this year's theme was recommended by a comprehensive committee of faculty from various disciplines, students, student affairs officials and international campus academic leaders. The College of Arts & Sciences, Student Affairs, the Webster University Student Government Association and other University entities sponsor various co-curricular activities around the broader theme throughout the academic year.

"This is an important and timely topic," said Wilson. "One in three women has experienced sexual violence.  Three million women and children are trapped against their will in the sex industry.  The year will focus on understanding, but it will also focus on action." 

Webster University is uniquely positioned to celebrate international human rights because it was the first university to establish an undergraduate degree in human rights and is also the only university with a 100-plus international extended campus network. Webster also has strong undergraduate and graduate programs in international relations and international business.

About Webster University

With its home campus in St. Louis, Webster University is a worldwide institution committed to delivering high-quality learning experiences that transform students for global citizenship and individual excellence. Founded in 1915, Webster offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs through five schools and colleges, and a global network of more than 100 campuses. Its 20,000-plus-student population represents almost 150 nationalities. The University’s core values include excellence in teaching, joining theory and practice, small class sizes, and educating students to be lifelong independent learners, fully prepared to participate in an increasingly international society.

Since opening its first campus overseas in Geneva in 1978, Webster has become a recognized leader and innovator in global education, with an international presence that now includes campuses in London; Vienna; Amsterdam and Leiden, the Netherlands; Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chengdu, China; and Bangkok and Cha-am, Thailand. Webster also has educational partnerships with universities in Mexico and Japan.

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