The Oksenberg Lecture honors the legacy of Professor Michel Oksenberg (1938-2001) longtime member of Shorenstein APARC, senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for International Studies, and an authority on China. Distinguished scholar, mentor to generations of students, senior government official, and a prominent force shaping American attitudes toward Asia, Professor Oksenberg was consistently outspoken about the need for the United States to engage with Asia in a more considered manner. In tribute, the Oksenberg Lecture recognizes, annually, a distinguished individual who has helped to advance understanding between the United States and the nations of the Asia-Pacific.

The Shorenstein Forum, which hosts this annual event, was established at the Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC) in 1998, through the generosity of Walter H. Shorenstein. The Forum convenes policymakers, executives, journalists, and others who shape outcomes across Asia.

George P. Shultz has had a distinguished career in government, in academia, and in the world of business. He is one of a handful of individuals who have held four different federal cabinet posts; he has taught at three of this country's greatest universities; and for eight years he was president of a major engineering/construction company.

Mrs. Sadako Ogata assumed office as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on 18 February 1991. She was elected to this post by the United Nations General Assembly on 21 December 1990, for three years starting 1 January 1991. Mrs. Ogata was reelected on 4 November 1993 for a further period of five years (January 1994 to December 1998). On 29 September 1998, Mrs. Ogata was reelected by the General Assembly to a further two-year period (see Press Release). Mrs. Ogata was Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Studies at Sophia University in Tokyo since 1989. Prior to that (1987-1988), she was Director of the Institute of International Relations at the same university. Since 1980, she was Professor at the Institute. Mrs. Ogata was the Independent Expert of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on the Human Rights Situation in Myanmar in 1990. From 1982 to 1985, she was Representative of Japan on the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. From 1978 to 1979, she was Chairman of the Executive Board of UNICEF. Professor Ogata received a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley in 1963, an M.A. in International Relations from Georgetown University in Washington D.C. in 1953 and a B.A. from the University of the Sacred Heart in Tokyo in 1951. Professor Ogata has published a number of books on diplomatic history and international relations as well as numerous articles. Recent publications include: "Refugees, A Multilateral Response to Humanitarian Crises," Elberg Lecture delivered at the University of California, Berkeley, UNHCR 1992; "The Movement of People," RSA Journal Volume V, 140 (5432), The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, 1992; "Towards a European Immigration," The Philip Morris Institute for Public Policy Research, Brussels, 1993; and "Refugees in Asia: From Exodus to Solutions," Charles Rostov lecture delivered at the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 1995.

Khaled Abou El Fadl is one of the leading authorities in Islamic law in the United States and Europe who has frequently criticized contemporary Islamic legal interpretation as deviating from its original diversity and moderation. He teaches Islamic Law, Middle Eastern Investment Law, Immigration Law, and courses related to human rights and terrorism. Professor Abou El Fadl's books include: Conference of the Books: The Search for Beauty in Islam (2001); Rebellion and Violence in Islamic Law (2001); Speaking in God's Name: Islamic Law, Authority and Women (2001); And God Knows the Soldiers: The Authoritative and Authoritarian in Islamic Discourse (2nd ed. revised and expanded, 2001) and The Place of Tolerance in Islam (2002).

Sherman Jackson, who specializes in Islamic law and theology, has previously taught at Wayne State University, Indiana University, University of Texas at Austin, American University in Cairo, Egypt, and Middlebury College. He has received numerous fellowships and awards and has served as interim president of the Shari'ah Scholars Association of North America. Professor Jackson is the author of Islamic Law and the State: The Constitutional Jurisprudence of Shihab al-Din al-Qarafi, and Boundaries of Theological Tolerance in Islam: Abu Hamid al Ghazali's Faysal al-Tafriga Bayna al-Islam wa al-Zandaga (Oxford, 2002)

Amira Sonbol specializes in women, gender, and Islam and is the author of several books including The New Mamluks; Women, Family, and Divorce Laws and Divorce in Islamic History; The Creation of a Medical Profession in Egypt: 1800-1922; The Memoirs of Abbas Hilmi II: Sovereign of Egypt; and Women of the Jordan: Islam, Labor and Law. Professor Sonbol is co-editor of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, a quarterly journal co-published with Selly Oak Colleges (UK) and the forthcoming HAWWA: Journal of the Women of the Middle East and the Islamic World to be published by E.J. Brill, 2003. She teaches courses on the History of Modern Egypt, Women and Law, and Islamic Civilization.

Ahmad Dallal taught at Yale and Smith College before joining Stanford's History Department in 2000. Professor Dallal earned his Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from Columbia University, and his academic training and research covers the history of the disciplines of learning in Muslim societies, including both the exact and the traditional sciences, and early modern and modern Islamic thought and movements. He is currently finishing a book-length comparative study of eighteenth century Islamic reform.

This event will take place at the Palo Alto Cultural Center Auditorium, at Embarcadero Rd. and Newell Rd. in Palo Alto.