The Beginning

The Shirley and Leonard Goldstein Lecture on Human Rights was established in 1997 through a significant gift from Shirley and Leonard Goldstein. The Goldstein Lecture brings to the UNOmaha campus each year a distinguished scholar or leading expert on human rights. Goldstein Lecturers are expected to represent a wide range of views on a variety of human rights issues. The Lecture will be available both to UNOmaha students and the Metropolitan Omaha community.

For over 25 years, Shirley Goldstein has devoted her life to promoting human rights around the world and especially to securing freedom for Soviet Jews. Operating on her conviction that one person can make a difference, Shirley Goldstein did just that--she made a significant difference in the lives of hundreds of individuals persecuted by the Soviet Union and other governments. She has also inspired others to take up the cause of freedom and human rights. Always supported by her husband, Leonard, Shirley made numerous trips to the Soviet Union to meet with Soviet dissidents and refuseniks, including Anatoly Sharansky. Together, the Goldsteins established the Lecture to focus attention on the plight of people around the world who suffer from the abuse of human rights.

The Goldstein Lecturer is selected by a committee representing philosophy, religion, political science, and international studies.