Chancellor Gene Block will present United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with the UCLA Medal Tuesday, the university’s highest honor.
Ban was serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade for the Republic of Korea when he was appointed as the U.N. Secretary-General in 2007. He has 37 years of experience working on both a governmental level and on a global scale with the United Nations.
“The challenges we face today are many, and my resolve is strong. I am determined to make progress on the pressing issues of our time, step by step, by building on achievements along the way, working with member states and civil society,” according to a statement from Ban on the U.N. Web site.
Ban will also present a lecture, “Mobilizing the Global Citizenry: The United Nations in a Changing World,” sponsored by the Burkle Center.
The UCLA Medal was established in 1979 to award people who have made significant achievements in their field and contributed to society, from poets to politicians, as well as former Los Angeles Laker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Past recipients have also included former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and philanthropists Edythe and Eli Broad.
RSVP was required for attendance to the event. A live stream of the lecture can be viewed at dailybruin.com
Compiled by Samantha Schaefer, Bruin senior staff.