Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, to speak at Augustana

Augustana kicks off its new Global Lecture Series with Arun Manilal Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. He will speak at 7 p.m. Nov. 14 in Centennial Hall.

The free lecture is open to the public.

Arun Gandhi will sign copies of his books, "The Gift of Anger: And Other Lessons from My Grandfather Mahatma Gandhi" (2015) and other titles after the lecture.

The Augustana Global Lecture Series, coinciding with International Education Week on Nov. 14-17, celebrates Augustana’s commitment to serving international students and preparing all students to make an impact in a global society. 

Arun Gandhi is a socio-political activist, journalist, author, philanthropist and motivational speaker. He will share his grandfather’s message of the transformational power of channeling one’s anger into an agent for doing good.  

“We are honored that the inaugural lecture in this new series will feature Arun Gandhi, who has been steadfast in efforts to preserve and extend the peaceful teachings of Mahatma Gandhi,” said Xong Sony Yang, director of International Student and Scholar Services. “His message of non-violence remains as relevant and important now as ever, and we look forward to sharing this message with the campus community and the Quad-Cities community.”

Yang also is pleased to see her dream of a global lecture series get its roots at Augustana. The series will bring notable scholars and guest speakers to campus to discuss a variety of global topics. 

“The lecture series aims to support students and community members to develop global awareness and broaden their perspective of the world, developments and opportunities,” Yang said.

Augustana is currently home to 349 international students from 50 counties. The college’s largest international student populations are from Ethiopia, Vietnam, Nepal and Morocco. The college offers 20 locations for study abroad; approximately 250-300 students study abroad annually. In addition, Augustana alumni currently live in 73 countries.

The Global Lecture Series, titled By Your Side: A Journey Forward, is an innovative initiative aimed at fostering global awareness, thought-provoking discussions on diverse international topics and infusing internationalization throughout the campus community.

John Deere is a sponsor of the Global Lecture Series.

The initiative aligns with the college's recent efforts toward internationalization, including substantive revision of the Global Awareness core curriculum course requirement; diversity, equity and inclusion as a component of promotion and tenure for faculty; and Augustana's participation in American Council on Education's (ACE) Internationalization Lab.