Oct. 2, 2013
Today, October 2, three organizations announced that they will provide an opportunity for acclaimed Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng to pursue his academic interests and human rights advocacy for the next three years.
At a National Press Club event, the organizations revealed that Mr. Chen will be affiliated with them as follows:
- Distinguished Visiting Fellow of the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies at The Catholic University of America (Washington, D.C.)- Distinguished Senior Fellow in Human Rights at the Witherspoon Institute (Princeton, N.J.)- Senior Distinguished Advisor at the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice (Concord, N.H.)
Chen, who has exposed human rights abuses in China, escaped house arrest in his hometown in April 2012, made his way to the U.S. embassy in Beijing, and subsequently arrived in the United States.
In addition to Chen, speakers at the press conference included:
• Matthew Franck, Director, the William E. and Carol G. Simon Center on Religion and the Constitution of the Witherspoon Institute
• John Garvey, President, The Catholic University of America
• Ambassador Richard Swett, Treasurer, the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice
Also present was Stephen F. Schneck, Director of Catholic University's Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies, who served as the press conference moderator.
The Catholic University of America , founded in 1887 by the U.S. Catholic bishops, is the national University of the Catholic Church in the United States. Established as a graduate research center, the University began offering undergraduate education in 1904 and today is home to 12 schools. The University's Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies is a community of scholars and researchers engaged in the analysis of public policy issues related to Catholic social thought. Organized in 1974 under its former name, the Life Cycle Institute, this academic think tank taps the knowledge and experience of the 40 renowned researchers, scholars, and policy experts who are its fellows. The institute has sponsored and organized research, analyzed public policy, published national studies, worked closely with lawmakers and policymakers, promoted and developed its own cadre of students and young researchers, and offered hundreds of symposia, conferences, debates, and lectures for academia and the American public square.
The Witherspoon Institute is an independent research center that works to enhance public understanding of the moral foundations of free and democratic societies. The Institute promotes the application of fundamental principles of republican government and ordered liberty to contemporary problems through a variety of research and educational ventures. The Witherspoon Institute carries out its educational mission through the scholarly work of the Simon Center on Religion and the Constitution and the Center on Ethics and the University. These two centers provide opportunities to high school, undergraduate, and graduate students to examine the moral foundations of political, philosophical, and social thought and to assist leading scholars in performing rigorous scholarship, often from an interdisciplinary perspective.
The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice was established to perpetuate former Congressman Tom Lantos' legacy as a champion for human rights by carrying, in his words, "the noble banner of human rights to every corner of the world." Throughout his tenure in Congress, Lantos was the leading advocate for human rights, calling attention to thousands of individual cases of torture, denial of rights, and abuse. The foundation's mission is to strengthen the role of human rights in American foreign policy and to be a vital voice standing up for our nation's most important values of decency, dignity, freedom, and justice in every corner of the world.
MEDIA: For more information, contact Katie Lee (202-386-0681) or Mary McCarthy Hines (202-319-5600) at The Catholic University of America.