Nontombi Naomi Tutu to Speak at Walden University Academic Residency

MINNEAPOLIS, July 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Nontombi Naomi Tutu, human rights activist and international scholar, will be the plenary speaker at Walden University's academic residency on Wednesday, July 27, at the Ted Mann Concert Hall at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus.

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Tutu is a globally recognized speaker and authority on gender, race and international relations.

The third child of 1984 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nomalizo Leah Tutu, she experienced many challenges as well as opportunities while growing up during apartheid in South Africa. Today, Tutu is a tireless advocate for peace and human rights.

In addition to speaking and teaching around the world, Tutu is a consultant to two global human rights organizations, the Spiritual Alliance to Stop Intimate Violence and the Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa. She has served as a development consultant in West Africa and a program coordinator for programs on race and gender and gender-based violence in education at the African Gender Institute at the University of Cape Town. She has also taught at the University of Hartford, the University of Connecticut and Brevard College.

In collaboration with Common Ground founder Rose Bator, Tutu leads workshops and retreats that address issues of race and racism. The two women are also writing a book tentatively titled I Don't Think of You as Black: Honest Conversations on Race and Racism. Tutu also wrote the introduction to The Words of Desmond Tutu, a collection of her father's speeches, sermons and published works.

Academic residencies at Walden, an accredited online university, support students' academic and professional goals by connecting them with individual faculty mentors, student support staff and hundreds of peers. During academic residencies, students from select doctoral and master's degree programs have the opportunity to conceptualize and develop research that contributes to positive social change.

Walden's plenary sessions are an integral part of the residencies and are led by speakers from around the world who share an array of experiences and viewpoints, inspiring debate and lively conversation. These sessions provide Walden students, faculty and staff with the opportunity to hear perspectives on a variety of topics that are meaningful and relevant to their lives as scholars and practitioners. 

Visit www.WaldenU.edu/perspectives for an archive of past Walden speakers.

About Walden University

For more than 40 years, Walden University has supported working professionals in achieving their academic goals and making a greater impact in their professions and their communities. Today, more than 46,500 students from all 50 states and more than 120 countries are pursuing their bachelor's, master's or doctoral degrees online at Walden. The university provides students with an engaging educational experience that connects them with expert faculty and peers around the world. Walden is the flagship online university in the Laureate International Universities network—a global network of more than 55 campus-based and online universities in 28 countries.

Walden offers more than 60 degree programs with more than 300 specializations and concentrations. Areas of study include health sciences, counseling, human services, management, psychology, education, public health, nursing, public administration and information technology. For more information, visit www.WaldenU.edu. Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association, www.ncahlc.org.

SOURCE Walden University