ACLU President Nadine Strossen will deliver Kops lecture, Oct. 21

Strossen

By Franklin Crawford

Sorry, Janis Joplin, but freedom's not just another word for nothing left to lose. And Nadine Strossen, powerhouse constitutional rights advocate and renowned speaker, is coming to Cornell to explain why in a free public lecture Tuesday, Oct. 21, titled "Our Imperiled Freedoms: The Collateral Damage of 9-11."

Strossen, professor of law at New York Law School and president of the American Civil Liberties Union, will deliver the Daniel W. Kops Freedom of the Press Fellowship address at 4:30 p.m. in the Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium of Goldwin Smith Hall.

A noted scholar, she has written, lectured and practiced extensively in the areas of constitutional law, civil liberties and international human rights. In 1991 she became the first woman to head the ACLU, which is the nation's largest and oldest civil liberties organization. Her ACLU position is non-paid and voluntary.

Strossen's repute is substantial: The National Law Journal has twice named her as one of "The 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America." In 1996 Working Woman magazine listed her among the "350 Women Who Changed the World 1976-96." In 1997 Upside Magazine included Strossen in the "Elite 100: 100 Executives Leading The Digital Revolution." In 1998, Vanity Fair included Strossen in "America's 200 Most Influential Women." In 1999, Ladies Home Journal included Strossen in "America's 100 Most Important Women."

Since becoming ACLU president, Strossen has made more than 200 public presentations per year before diverse audiences, including appearances on approximately 500 campuses and in many foreign countries. She comments frequently on legal issues in the national media, having appeared on virtually every national news program. She was a regular guest on ABC's "Politically Incorrect" with Bill Maher and has been a monthly columnist for two Web magazines and a weekly commentator on the Talk America Radio Network.

Strossen's writings have appeared in many scholarly and general interest publications and her book, Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex, and the Fight for Women's Rights (Scribner 1995), was named by The New York Times a "notable book" of 1995 and was republished in October 2000 by NYU Press. Her co-authored book, Speaking of Race, Speaking of Sex: Hate Speech, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties (N.Y.U. Press 1995), was named an "outstanding book" by the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights in North America.

Strossen graduated from Harvard University in 1972 and magna cum laude in 1975 from Harvard Law School, where she was editor of the Harvard Law Review.

She has received honorary doctor of law degrees from the University of Rhode Island, the University of Vermont, San Joaquin College of Law, Rocky Mountain College and the Massachusetts School of Law. Other awards include: the "Women of Distinction" award from the Women's League for Conservative Judaism, the Media Institute's "Freedom of Speech Award" and the Free Speech Coalition's "Freedom Isn't Free Award." Strossen also is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

The Kops Freedom of the Press Fellowship Program was established in 1990 by Daniel W. Kops, a 1939 graduate of Cornell and former editor of The Cornell Daily Sun, to bring distinguished speakers to Ithaca annually to discuss issues relating to freedom of the press. The fellowship is hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences in cooperation with the American Studies Program.