Nadine Strossen, who was the first female president of the American Civil Liberties Union, will speak at Westminster College at 7 p.m. tonight.
Strossen served in her prestigious role from 1991 to 2008. During that time two of her primary goals-according to the ACLU website-were to "increase youth involvement in the organization and to gain momentum for civil liberties within the context of the international human rights movement."
The National Law Journal twice named Strossen as one of the 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America, and Vanity Fair praised her for her influence in civil liberties and social justice. She has published extensively in both scholarly journals and general interest publications.
A press release from the college described her as "one of the most influential women in constitutional law, civil liberties, and international human rights." Her lecture "Defending Rights for All-Controversies Surrounding Liberty" will "focus on important issues such as the criminal justice system, free speech concerns, campus sexual misconduct, as well as constitutional principles."
Strossen graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard College and magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Before becoming a law professor, she practiced law for nine years in her hometown of Minneapolis and in New York City. She currently is a professor at New York Law School.
Tonight's event is free and open to the public and will be held in the Coulter Science Center Lecture Hall.