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Former Senator, Diplomat George Mitchell Speaks at SU on Pan Am 103, World Peace

Syracuse University News Services

  What can the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing teach us about world peace?  Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell will put it into context when he speaks at Syracuse University Tuesday night.  

Mitchell advised presidents Clinton and Obama on conflicts in the Middle East and Northern Ireland.  He chaired Irish peace talks and is credited with helping bring about the Good Friday Agreement there.  S-U News Services Spokesperson Kelly Rodoski says those experiences can help shed light during the 25th anniversary of the Pan Am bombing.

“Those experiences in Northern Ireland and the Middle East, this isn’t something where you go in and you say, ‘o-k, we signed an agreement and we’re all friends now and we’re just going to walk away.’ There’s always new people injected into the process.  And it’s the same thing with Pan Am Flight 103.  It was an event that happened 25 years ago.  We still can draw so many lessons from it.”

Credit University lectures

  Rodoski describes Mitchell’s approach as calm and thoughtful.  She believes students, staff and the general public can benefit by his perspective about Pan Am Flight 103 and current world peace efforts.

“I think when you bring in somebody of the stature and importance that Senator Mitchell is, people really take note, people really listen.  He’s lived this and he can really inform us.  So I think it’s a great thing for our students to see someone who’s really lived these experiences and been at the front line of diplomatic efforts for many, many years.”    

He’ll speak as part of the University Lectures Tuesday night starting at 5:30 in Hendrick’s Chapel.

Chris Bolt, Ed.D. has proudly been covering the Central New York community and mentoring students for more than 30 years. His career in public media started as a student volunteer, then as a reporter/producer. He has been the news director for WAER since 1995. Dedicated to keeping local news coverage alive, Chris also has a passion for education, having trained, mentored and provided a platform for growth to more than a thousand students. Career highlights include having work appear on NPR, CBS, ABC and other news networks, winning numerous local and state journalism awards.