Philosopher to speak on poverty and human rights

As part of the Teaching International Program at Penn State Greater Allegheny, Thomas Pogge, Leitner Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs at Yale University, will be giving a lecture at Penn State Greater Allegheny on Wednesday, March 18 at 6:30 p.m. in the Ostermayer Room located in the Student Community Center. Dr. Pogge has given over 635 lectures in 39 countries. His lecture will emphasize both poverty and health issues and will address making life-saving pharmaceuticals affordable and accessible to all via The Health Impact Fund.

Thomas Pogge received his Ph.D. in Philosophy at Harvard, where he studied under John Rawls, an American political philosopher in the liberal tradition. Pogge has written many essays and reviews as well as books including World poverty and Human Rights: Cosmopolitan Responsibilities and Reform. In addition, Pogge has received grants from the Princeton Institute of Advanced Studies, the National Institutes of Health, the MacArthur Foundation, and The Princeton Center for Human Values, among many others. Dr. Pogge is also editor of social and political philosophy for the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and serves on the editorial boards of 17 journals. In addition, he is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science.

The 2008-2009 Teaching International Program at Penn State Greater Allegheny focuses on Latin America and the Caribbean. The program began in 2004 to promote greater awareness of global trends and civic engagement and to broaden the student's understanding of intercultural and international issues.

Dr. Pogge's visit is being sponsored by Penn State Greater Allegheny 's Office of Academic Affairs.