Morehouse College News

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Atlanta, March 14, 2001 - Jacques Delors, former president of the European Commission and chairman of Notre Europe, a think-tank established to study and research Europe's history and future prospects, will take a retrospective look at the progress achieved by the European Community in a lecture entitled, "Reflections on European Union Integration." The lecture begins at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 28th in the African-American Hall of Fame in the Martin Luther King, Jr. International Chapel on the campus of Morehouse College. Admission is free and open to the public.

"Delors is one of the world's leading economists on social and structural change. He can provide great insights and broaden the knowledge of our students on the political, social and economic dynamics of international affairs," said Morehouse College President Walter E. Massey.

Delors' visit is part of a speaking tour sponsored by the European Commission Delegation in Washington, D.C. focusing on the European Union (EU) integration and relations with the United States. The European Commission is the source of policy initiatives for the European Union, which is an institutional framework for the construction of a united Europe. Ambassador Guenter Burghardt, Head of the European Commission Delegation to the United States and Jean Monchau, Consul General of France will accompany Delors.

The lecture, which is sponsored by the Andrew Young Center for International Affairs, is part of a series of presentations designed to broaden the perspectives and heighten the awareness of Morehouse students on world issues. Professor Julius Coles, director of the Andrew Young Center for International Affairs and professor of political science said, "This is a very significant visit for Morehouse College. It is the first time that a European figure of such stature has visited Morehouse. It reaffirms the College's position as an important member of the global community."

Jacques Delors began his professional career at the Banque de France - the French Federal Reserve. In 1979 Delors was elected Member of the European Parliament and became Chairman of its committee on economic and monetary issues. From 1981 to 1984, he was finance Minister in the first government under President François Mitterand.

Between 1985 and 1995 Delors served as president of the European Commission. During Delors' presidency, he re-launched the project of the Single Market and was behind the Single Act of 1986, which extended the European Community competence in the area of economic and social cohesion, environment and social dialogue. The Maastricht Treaty, a work of the Delors Committee for Economic and Monetary Union (1988-89), lead to the creation of the single European currency and paved the way for the Euro. Delors is also considered the father of the European Community's "structural policy" designed to enhance the overall economic performance of Europe's poorer regions.

Since May 2000, Delors has been president of the Council for Employment, Revenues and Social Cohesion (CERC), an independent organization mandated by law to give advice on the links between employment and revenues, distribution of revenues and social inequality.

Ranked the number one college in the nation for educating African-American students by Black Enterprise magazine, Morehouse College is the nation's largest comprehensive liberal arts college for men. Founded in 1867, the College enrolls approximately 3,000 students and confers bachelor's degrees on more African-American men than any other institution in the nation. In addition to offering 36 majors in humanities, natural and social sciences, Morehouse provides a number of programs and activities to enhance its challenging liberal arts curriculum, including the Leadership Center at Morehouse College, the Morehouse Research Institute, and the Andrew Young Center for International Affairs.

Prominent alumni include Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and civil rights leader; Dr. David Satcher, U.S. Surgeon General; Shelton "Spike" Lee, filmmaker and president of 40 Acres & A Mule Productions; Maynard Jackson, chairman and CEO of Jackson Securities Inc. and the first African-American mayor of Atlanta; and Nima A. Warfield, the first African-American Rhodes Scholar from an historically black college or university. Visit the web site at www.morehouse.edu.

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Media Contact:

Toni Mosley
404-215-2680
tmosley@morehouse.edu