The newest iteration of the Dr. Harold W. Sunoo World Peace Lecture Series will take place on Wednesday, October 21 at Central Methodist University, with Dr. Paul H. Wise slated to give the latest annual address. Wise’s lecture will be titled, “Children in Crisis: Lessons from Ukraine, Gaza, and the US-Mexican Border.” The event will be held at 7 p.m. in the Inman Lecture Hall (Stedman 200).

Wise is dedicated to bridging the fields of child health equity, public policy, and international security studies. He is the Richard E. Behrman Professor of Child Health and Society and professor of pediatrics at Stanford University. He is also co-director of the Stanford Center for Prematurity Research and a senior fellow for the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford. Wise is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has been working as the juvenile care monitor for the U.S. Federal Court, overseeing the treatment of migrant children in U.S. border detention facilities.

Wise’s most recent U.S.-focused work has addressed disparities in birth outcomes, regionalized specialty care for children, and Medicaid. His international work has focused on women’s and child health in violent and politically complex environments, including Ukraine, Gaza, Central America, Venezuela, and children in detention on the U.S.-Mexico border.

About the lecture series

In the spring of 2015, just before his passing, the Dr. Harold W. Sunoo World Peace Lecture Series was established by the Sunoo family to sponsor an annual guest speaker to stimulate students to think about how they can use their education to contribute to world peace. Dr. Sunoo was well-known for challenging his students to “use your brains and think” and took his responsibility to stimulate critical thinking among his students very seriously.

Dr. Sunoo was hired by Central Methodist University in 1962. After 30 years, he retired with distinction as the Division Chair for Social Sciences and as the first Bishop Eugene Frank Professor. He published more than 20 academic books during his career and taught for shorter periods at the University of Washington, NY City College, University of California Berkeley, and Irvine and Yonsei University, Republic of Korea.

His legacy will live on through the thousands of students who were influenced by his teaching and the legions of Korean activists who drew inspiration from his life. Through the Dr. Harold W. Sunoo World Peace Lecture Series, his kindness, global vision, and wisdom will continue to touch the students at his beloved Central Methodist.