Condoleezza Rice will speak at UCLA

The original version of this article contained an incomplete paragraph. The original headline also contained information that was unclear. See the bottom of the article for additional information. 

Joining the ranks of many high-profile speakers before her, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will address UCLA this evening at the annual Daniel Pearl Memorial Lecture.

The Daniel Pearl Memorial Lecture series – sponsored by the Burkle Center for International Relations, the Daniel Pearl Foundation and the Yitzhak Rabin Hillel Center for Jewish Life at UCLA – features speakers who have contributed significantly to addressing international issues, according to the Burkle Center website.

Rice, who served under President George W. Bush as the first black female Secretary of State in U.S. history, will speak about “American Leadership in the 21st Century,” said Alexandra Lieben, deputy director for the Burkle Center.

The lecture series was established in 2002 to honor the memory of Daniel Pearl, a journalist who was kidnapped and later murdered by militant group Al Qaeda in Pakistan while working for the Wall Street Journal.

Judea Pearl, Daniel Pearl’s father and a professor emeritus at UCLA, works with the foundation to look for candidates, but he makes the ultimate decision on the speaker, Lieben said.

Rice was also the first woman to serve as the president’s national security advisor, and currently teaches political science at Stanford University.

Past speakers include New York Times journalist Thomas Friedman, CNN anchor Larry King and CNN journalist Anderson Cooper.

The lecture will take place today at 5 p.m., at the Anderson School of Management. Tickets for the events are sold out, but the Burkle Center plans to live-stream the lecture in Lenart Auditorium at the Fowler Museum to accommodate people who still wish to watch, Lieben said.

Compiled by Katherine Hafner, Bruin senior staff. Contributing reports by Christopher Hurley, Bruin contributor.

Clarification: Condoleezza Rice will speak at UCLA this evening.