Dobbs Ferry, NY -- October 2, 2010 -- Mercy College invites the community to its “Living the Mission” program on social justice—featuring international journalist Roxana Saberi. The event will take place on October 12, 2010 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. in the Rotunda at Mercy College, 555 Broadway in Dobbs Ferry. From 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Saberi will sign copies of her book.
Roxana Saberi, an American of Iranian-Japanese descent, moved to Iran in 2003 to work as a correspondent for Feature Story News, filing reports for major news organizations. She was working on a book about Iranian society when she was arrested in early 2009.
Saberi was later sentenced to eight years in prison on a trumped-up charge of espionage. Her fight for freedom lasted 100 days, and received international attention. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton demanded her release, along with the most prominent human rights organizations. In May 2009, an Iranian court finally overturned the sentence, and she was freed.
Since her release, Roxana Saberi has brought attention to the situation of human rights in Iran through articles in national newspapers and interviews on all the top TV news networks. Saberi’s gripping memoir, Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran, was published by HarperCollins in March 2010.
Roxana Saberi has received the Medill Medal of Courage, the Ilaria Alpi Freedom of the Press Award, the NCAA Award of Valor, and a POMED (Project for Middle East Democracy) Award. In 1998 she was one of the top ten finalists for the Miss America contest, winning the Scholar Award.
In addition to Ms. Saberi’s keynote address, the Mercy College “Living the Mission” event will feature digital stories created by faculty about their commitments to social justice. The event is free of charge and open to the public.
For further information contact: Nancy Pawlyshyn at 914-674-7315 or Angela Nally at 914-674-7231. To register to attend, direct your email request of Elizabeth Dispenza at edispenza@mercy.edu.
Mercy College is a private, nonprofit institution founded in 1950, providing study toward degrees in more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs within five schools: Business, Education, Health and Natural Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Liberal Arts. The main campus is situated in Dobbs Ferry; additional campuses in The Bronx, Manhattan, Yorktown Heights, and White Plains. www.mercy.edu; 877-MERCY-GO.
