Rwandan President Paul Kagame,
will give a rare public talk during a visit to
the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California.

USA UNIVERSITY HONORS KAGAME

University President Donald DeRosa will present Kagame with
an honorary Doctor of Law degree
in recognition of his efforts to rebuild Rwanda.

To Orwell Today,
re: RWANDA'S GOOD MAN KAGAME

I agree with much of what you say on your web page. My university is giving President Kagame his first honorary degree in the United States next week.

Margee Ensign, Dean
School of International Studies
University of the Pacific

Greetings Margee,

Congratulations on having the honor of honoring Rwanda's Paul Kagame. Your university students and the surrounding area of Stockton, California (I had to look up on the map just where the University of the Pacific was located) are lucky to get the chance to see and hear him speak.

I see from the map that the closest place to fly into would be Sacramento, which is close to San Jose, "if you know the way to San Jose".

Map of University of the Pacific

If I were anywhere near the area (which I'm not, living up here north of the 49th) I would definitely attend.

Thanks for your comments about my web page and have a wonderful evening meeting President and First Lady Kagame on Thursday, April the 14th.

All the best,
Jackie Jura

Rwanda president to speak at University of the Pacific. Sun Valley Herald, Mar 21, 2005
Rwandan President Paul Kagame, credited with stabilizing the ethnically divided country after the genocide there a decade ago, will give a rare public talk next month during a visit to the University of the Pacific in Stockton. The April 14 speech is free and open to the public. Kagame will describe how his country is recovering from the genocide in 1994 during which hundreds of thousands of ethnic Tutsis were killed by rival Hutu militias. Differing accounts say between 500,000 and 1 million people were killed in the genocide, which was depicted in the film "Hotel Rwanda."...

Also, university President Donald DeRosa will present Kagame with an honorary Doctor of Law degree in recognition of his efforts to rebuild Rwanda, including drafting a constitution, establishing free universal education, helping more women get elected to national office and creating a system to bring those responsible for the genocide to justice. "Paul Kagame is widely regarded as the leader of a new generation of African presidents dedicated to poverty reduction, human development and female empowerment," Margee Ensign, dean of Pacific's School of International Studies, said in a statement. "I'm hoping that President Kagame's visit will help inform the public about what's really happening there." Ensign invited Kagame to Pacific after she met him in Rwanda last year. DeRosa and Kagame also will announce a student exchange program with the Rwandan Ministry of Education. It will be the first such exchange program with an American university, Pacific officials said.

Kagame, 47, was elected president in 2003 in Rwanda's first democratic elections. He will be joined at Pacific by his wife, Jeannette Kagame, who also will appear at a fund-raiser for AIDS widows and orphans in Rwanda. Kagame's speech begins at 6 p.m. April 14 at the university's Alex G. Spanos Center. There is no cost to attend, but tickets are required and can be obtained through the Pacific Box Office, (209) 946-2474 or www.tix.com. Type Kagame in the search. The reception with the first lady follows at 7:45 p.m. in Grace Covel Hall. Tickets cost $75, or $25 for students and are available through the Pacific Box Office.

Jackie Jura
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