What do both President George W. Bush and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan have in common?

They both receive advice from Rita Hauser, prominent international lawyer and philanthropist, who will speak at Hendricks Chapel today at 7:30 p.m. as part of the University Lectures Series.

‘Of all the speakers we’ve had, and we have had an outstanding array of speakers, she is perhaps the most singularly qualified to share insights and understanding,’ said Michael Flusche, director of the University Lecture Series.

Hauser is chairwoman of the International Peace Academy, a major think tank on global conflicts for the United Nations, and director of the RAND Corporation, another important organization that covers broad domestic policies for the U.S. government, said Mehrzad Boroujerdi, the professor of political science who will introduce the speaker.

In the past, Hauser has also served on commissions associated with the U.S. Department of Defense and the International Center for Peace in the Middle East, Boroujerdi added.

Despite Hauser’s prominent positions, most people do not know who she is because the majority of her work is performed behind the scenes, Boroujerdi said.

‘She is a person who is close to people in power,’ Boroujerdi said.

The title of the speech is ‘The U.S. role in a Troubled Middle East.’ Hauser has worked for a peaceful resolution to the Israel-Palestine dispute for many years, Boroujerdi said.

‘She seems to be a person who has strong convictions and is willing to help,’ Boroujerdi said. ‘It’s nice to bring someone to campus who is so well entrenched, has served in the foreign establishment and is able to speak so wisely on a seemingly irretractable conflict.’

Hauser is an important source on the Israel-Palestine conflict for both her work in the past and her influence on its future, said Donna Arzt, professor of law and director of the Center for Global Law and Practice, in an e-mail.

The timing of her remarks are particularly important, said Arzt, because of the recent escalation of tension in the area, with Israel killing the founder of the Palestinian movement Hamas and the terrorist group vowing revenge.

‘Dr. Hauser has always stood for the importance of dialogue between the two sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,’ Arzt said. ‘At this crucial moment in the conflict, when there is the very real possibility that the thin remaining threads of negotiation could be completely blown up – literally – her message is more important than ever.’

Hauser is also a major player in the intelligence community, which is currently dominating news headlines as well for its failure to prevent the attacks of Sept. 11 and for its presentation of faulty intelligence in the days leading up to the war in Iraq. Hauser is chairwoman of the President’s Intelligence Oversight Board, which analyzes the legality of the intelligence community’s actions.

She is also a member of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, which ‘provides advice to the president concerning the quality and adequacy of intelligence collection,’ according to the White House Web site.

‘We had no idea when we lined her up to speak a year ago that it was going to be so exquisitely well-timed,’ Flusche said. ‘I think she is going to be just outstanding.’

Published on March 29, 2004 at 12:00 pm