Lieberman to speak in Sanford on Sept. 11 attacks

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., will join a short list of national and international leaders Sunday, as he delivers the 2001 Terry Sanford Distinguished Lecture.

The speech, which will take place at 8 p.m. in the Fuqua School of Business' Geneen Auditorium, is free and open to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis. Lieberman will speak about the events and responses surrounding the Sept. 11 attacks, said Dan Gerstein, his communications director.

"The invitation was extended to the senator well before the [attacks], but... it's hard to talk to an audience these days and not talk about this," said Gerstein. "There are many facets that go to the very heart of our place in the world and our values, and I think you will hear the senator talk quite a bit about the underlying principles of our country."

Geneen Auditorium holds 450 people, and there is overflow space in Fuqua for another 300 people in rooms with televisions.

Kathy Neal, Sanford director of communications, expects high attendance and recommends arriving early. The Fuqua building will open at 7 p.m., and the auditorium will open at 7:30 p.m.

As the chair of the Government Affairs Committee and a member of the Armed Services Committee in the Senate, Lieberman has been intricately involved in the government's response to the terrorist attacks, said Gerstein. Lieberman was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1988 and was the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 2000. He also serves on the Environmental and Public Works Committee and the Small Business Committee.

"To hear on campus from a major national and international figure is a very important experience," said Sanford Institute Director Bruce Jentleson, who invited Lieberman to speak.

"I have very high respect for him. He has stature as a statesman consistent with what Terry Sanford's career [was] about," he said.