Activist Author Richard Lapchick To Speak on Business, Sport And Social Change on Pacific's Forest Grove Campus

Noted author, ethicist and activist Richard Lapchick comes to Pacific University’s Forest Grove Campus to discuss “The Power of Business & Sport to Bring About Positive Social Change” in a free public lecture on Tuesday, Sept. 13 at 6 p.m. He will address ways to use the tools of sports and business to create social justice opportunities.

Lapchick is the founder of the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University, the cofounder of the Mentors in Violence Prevention program, and the founder of the National Consortium for Academics and Sports, an organization that fights human trafficking, now known as the Institute for Sport and Social Justice. Lapchick also is the founder of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport.

He has won numerous awards including the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian of the Year, the Arthur Ashe Leadership Award, and the John Carlos and Tommie Smith Social Justice Champion Award. Lapchick, who fought apartheid by leading boycotts of South Africa, especially that country’s hosting of the Davis Cup, was one of 200 guests personally invited by Nelson Mandela to his inauguration. In 2009, the Rainbow/ PUSH Coalition and Rev. Jesse Jackson honored him with “A Lifetime Achievement Award for Work in Civil Rights.”  

He has written many books, including 100 Pioneers: African-Americans Who Broke Color Barriers in Sport, Smashing Barriers: Race and Sport in the New Millenium, 150 Heroes: People in Sport Who Make This a Better World, On the Mark: Putting the Student Back in Student-Athlete, and many others. He also is a columnist for ESPN.com and The Sports Business Journal.

Lapchick will speak at the Taylor-Meade Performing Arts Center, near the corner of Pacific Avenue and Cedar Street. His visit to Forest Grove is sponsored by Pacific University’s College of Business, Center for Entrepreneurship, Sport and Entertainment, and Office of the President. While admission is free, please register to attend.