Princeton Scholar to Visit Baylor, Address State of International Religious Freedom

August 27, 2015
Robert P. George

Robert P. George courtesy photo.

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WACO, Texas (Aug. 31, 2015) – Robert P. George, Ph.D., McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, has been selected as the guest lecturer at the Baylor Honors College’s 22nd annual Laura Blanche Jackson Endowed Memorial Lectureship in World Issues.
George’s lecture, “The State of International Religious Freedom,” will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3, in the foyer of Armstrong Browning Library on Baylor’s campus with a reception immediately following.

“Professor George is a leading scholar and public intellectual on this very topic. He’s also a very engaging speaker,” said Thomas Hibbs, Ph.D., dean of the Honors College at Baylor. “Both students and faculty will gain a better sense of the threats to religious liberty across the globe and be invited to investigate what responses are available to us.” Anyone with an interest in responding to worldwide religious discrimination is encouraged to attend.
George has served as Chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and as a presidential appointee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He holds degrees in law and theology from Harvard University and a doctorate in philosophy of law from Oxford University. In 2009, The New York Times’ David Kirkpatrick declared George the most influential conservative Christian thinker in America at that time. He’s been awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President George W. Bush, the Canterbury Medal of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and the Sydney Hook Memorial Award of the National Association of Scholars. George is highly decorated and well-versed in religious liberty and international affairs.
Laura Blanche Jackson’s family and friends created the Laura Blanche Jackson Endowed Memorial Lectureship in World Issues in memory of Laura’s abundant life. Graduating from Baylor in 1985, Laura was involved in Student Foundation and the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. Her time abroad during her education contributed to her increased world awareness, providing the inspiration for her lectureship.
Soon after losing her battle to cancer in December 1992, Laura’s friends created a quilt incorporating their many reasons for loving her to create a larger picture of her character as a whole. Similarly, they created the lectureship in her honor in hopes of piecing the individual issues that contribute to today’s world affairs together into a larger picture. For more than 20 years, the lectureship series has posed questions and sought answers Laura was committed to asking and finding. Laura is remembered by loved ones as a woman who demonstrated courage, a love for God and a commitment to her faith.
Armstrong Browning Library is located at 710 Speight Ave. in Waco. The lecture and reception are free and open to the public.
For more information about the Laura Blanche Jackson Endowed Memorial Lectureship in World Issues, contact Hibbs at Thomas Hibbs@baylor.edu.
by Bethany Harper , student newswriter, (254) 710-6805
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Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 16,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Baylor sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and is a founding member of the Big 12 Conference.