VCU news

By Malorie Burkett

RICHMOND, Va. – Hans Blix, former chief U.N. weapons inspector and chairman of the International Commission on Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Sarah Chayes, former NPR reporter during the Afghan war, will kickoff Virginia Commonwealth University’s “Crossing Boundaries” lecture series -- a year-long series of speakers, performances and events that will explore the ways in which social, personal, religious and political boundaries are transcended. Both lectures are free and open to the public.

Chayes will speak at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 8 at VCU’s Grace St. Theatre, 934 W. Grace Street. Chayes joined NPR as a foreign correspondent in 1997, and reported from Paris, Algeria, Lebanon, Israel-Palestine, Serbia and Bosnia. Her work also brought her to Afghanistan, where she covered the fall of the Taliban.  Afterwards, Chayes left NPR and journalism to focus on Afghans for Civil Society, a non-governmental, non-profit aid organization in Kandahar.  

Blix, author of the recently published book, “Disarming Iraq,” will continue the kickoff April 22 at 7:30 p.m. with a lecture at the Stuart C. Siegel Center, 1200 W. Broad St.  Blix and his U.N. team conducted on-site inspections to try to determine the true scope of Iraq's weapons program.  He will provide a first-hand account of the events leading up to the 2003 war in Iraq, as well as insight into the inspectors’ work, findings and conclusions.

“The Crossing Boundaries Series is just one way for the World School to become a channel for bringing international events to VCU and the Richmond community,” said R. McKenna Brown, Ph.D., director of VCU’s School of World Studies. “By increasing our awareness of trends and issues throughout the world, we help prepare our students to become global citizens.”

The Crossing Boundaries series is sponsored by the School of World Studies and the VCU Honors Program and is made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for Humanities (NEH), an independent grant-making agency of the United States government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation and public programs in the humanities. 

The only entity of its kind in the state, VCU’s School of World Studies received approval in 2003 by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. The school offers programs in anthropology, geography, foreign languages, international studies and religious studies. The programs emphasize applied learning through both classroom and non-traditional classroom instruction, such as internships, study abroad and community outreach.

For more information on the series, call the VCU School of World Studies at 804-828-7289.