A former U.S. Ambassador is visiting Central Michigan University to talk about public policy.
CMU invited Former Ambassador Delano Lewis to talk about bettering communities through passion, power, politics and purpose.
Ambassador Lewis said these four traits are most important to better communities.
“What’s important is for them to understand that they can make the change happen. But you have to be interested, you have to be focused, you have to be passionate about something, you have to be willing to serve, you have to be willing to makes things happen.”
Lewis was the ambassador to the Republic of South Africa from 1999-2001. He has experience as an attorney for the Department of Justice and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commision. Ambassador Lewis also worked with the Peace Corps in Nigeria and Uganda.
After serving both local and global communities, Ambassador Lewis said this conversation is increasingly important in our current political climate.
“What's important here is understanding and dialogue. I think there is too much devisiveness, there is too much of people being polarized by race, by religion, and by culture. We have more in common than we have that divides us. And we should treat each other with respect so we can get things done.”
The event is part of the Griffin Forum, which happen twice a year and are meant to address public policy issues.
The event will happen Monday, February 18th at 7PM in the Park Library Auditorium. It is open for CMU students and the general public.