Maria Ressa, a Filipino and American journalist for reporting on abuses of power and fake news, will be the distinguished speaker for the at the University of Notre Dame on March 21. Sponsored by the , the free event starts at 4:30 p.m. in the Patricia George Decio Theatre at the .

Notre Dame Law Professor , a Liu Institute faculty fellow and international human rights attorney, will moderate a discussion after the lecture, which is co-sponsored by ����

Tickets are available at the .��Backpacks and large bags will not be permitted at this event.

Additionally, a public discussion of Ressa’s��recently released memoir, “,” will be held on March 7. Details will follow.

“Maria Ressa’s bravery in speaking truth to power is profound,” said , director of the Liu Institute. “Her commitment to democracy, especially revealed by her tireless work to expose and fight against fake news, is equally inspiring.”

A former CNN correspondent and bureau chief in Jakarta and Manila, Ressa co-founded the Philippines-based news site Rappler in 2012 with three other women. Rappler earned acclaim for combating fake news in addition to exposing human rights abuses by the regime of former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte.

In awarding Ressa the 2021 Peace Prize, the Nobel committee wrote, “As an investigative journalist, she has distinguished herself as a fearless defender of freedom of expression and has exposed the abuse of power, use of violence and increasing authoritarianism of the regime of President Rodrigo Duterte. In particular, Ms. Ressa has focused critical attention on President Duterte’s controversial, murderous anti-drug campaign. She and Rappler have also documented how social media are being used to spread fake news, harass opponents and manipulate public discourse.”

In her Nobel acceptance speech, Ressa spoke of the last journalist to win the peace prize, Carl von Ossietzky in 1935, who couldn’t accept the prize because he was being held in a Nazi concentration camp. “By giving the honor to me and Dmitry Muratov of Russia, the Norwegian Nobel committee signaled that the world was at a similar historical moment, another existential point for democracy,” she said.��

Born in Manila in 1963, Ressa moved to the United States at age 9 with her family. After studying at Princeton University, she returned to live in the Philippines and launched her journalism career. Among her many awards, her work combating fake news earned Ressa the cover of Time��magazine as its 2018 Person of the Year representing journalists fighting disinformation.��

The Asia Leadership Forum invites leaders from Asia to discuss topics within a global context. Past speakers are former Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (2015), former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou (2016) and former United Nations��Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (2018).

The Liu Institute for Asia and Asian 91��Ƶ, part of the Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs, promotes awareness, understanding and knowledge of Asia through administering a supplementary major and minor in Asian studies, supporting student and faculty scholarship, organizing public events, and facilitating interaction and exchanges with partners in Asia. The institute was established by a gift from the RM Liu Foundation that supports the philanthropic activities of Robert and Mimi Liu and their children, Emily and Justin, both Notre Dame graduates.��

For more information about Ressa’s lecture and the book discussion, or check the institute website at .

Photo source:��“Maria” (2010) by ���Dz� and . Modified under����.��

Originally published by the��Liu Institute for Asia and Asian 91��Ƶ at on Feb. 7.

The event, “Honoring Heritage, Advancing Representation,” will focus on Freeman’s personal life and Asian heritage��in an informal discussion with , Liu Institute faculty fellow and assistant professor of film, television and theater. The free event will be held at 4 p.m. April 27 (Wednesday) in the Patricia George Decio Theatre at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. Tickets will become available in coming days at .

“Coach Freeman regularly speaks in interviews about his mother, Chong, who was born and raised in South Korea, and how she shaped his character and values,” said , Liu Institute director. “We are honored that Coach Freeman will share more about his upbringing and background for this event. The Asian American Distinguished Speaker Series was developed to bring visibility to Asian American experiences, and it is meaningful that Coach Freeman also finds this goal important.”

Notre Dame selected Freeman as its 30th head football coach on Dec. 3. He joined Notre Dame earlier that year as the defensive coordinator, previously serving as a defensive coach at the University of Cincinnati, Purdue University and Kent State University.

A few days after his head coach appointment, Freeman published the open letter “” that explained his vision for the football team and shared his personal background. “Having the ability and the character to serve others, I think I got that from my mother,” he writes. “She’s a Korean woman who fell in love with this American guy [Michael Freeman] that was stationed over in Korea. And she left all of her comfort back home in order to start a family with my dad in the United States. She’s taught me so much about sacrifice, how it can be its own reward.”

He also writes about the importance of representation as a person of color. “I want to be a representation, but also more than that, I want to be a demonstration. I want to be a demonstration of what someone can do, and the level they can do it at, if they are given the OPPORTUNITY.”

An Ohio native, Freeman was a four-year letter winner at Ohio State University, where he earned a bachelor’s in 2007 and a master’s in 2011.

Launched in 2021, the Asian American Distinguished Speaker Series honors innovative, creative and effective Asian American leaders.

The Liu Institute for Asia and Asian 91��Ƶ provides integrated and multidisciplinary research and teaching on Asia. The institute also promotes general awareness, understanding and knowledge of Asia through public events and supporting student and faculty scholarship and engagement with partners in Asia. The institute, part of the Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs, was established in 2010 by a gift from the RM Liu Foundation that supports the philanthropic activities of Robert and Mimi Liu and their children, Emily and Justin, both Notre Dame graduates.��

Tickets for the Freeman event will be available for pickup one hour prior to the performance. To guarantee a reservation, patrons must pick up will-call tickets at least 15 minutes prior to the performance. In the event of a sellout, unclaimed will-call tickets will be used to seat patrons waiting on standby.

For media inquiries, contact Colleen Sharkey, assistant director of media relations, at 574-999-0102 or csharke2@nd.edu.

Originally published by Liu Institute at on April 7.

Under the organizing theme “Anti-Asian Violence in Context: Histories, Connections, Coalition,” these events will feature Notre Dame faculty and students as well as guest activists. The University’s and the are leading the organization of the virtual events, which are free and open to the public.

The first event, “Processing Anti-Asian Violence: A Roundtable Discussion on the Atlanta Shootings,” will be held from 5:30 to 7��p.m.��April 8. Professors and doctoral students will participate in a conversation to focus especially on attacks against Asian and Asian American women. Participants are , assistant professor of American studies; , assistant professor of East Asian languages and cultures and gender studies; , assistant professor of Korean studies; , doctoral student in theology; , doctoral student in history; and , doctoral��student in peace studies, theology��and gender studies. Register at��.

The second event,��"Histories of Anti-Asian Violence in the U.S.: Politics, Gender��and Resistance,"��is a panel discussion that will be held from 5:30 to 7��p.m. April 29. Notre Dame participants are��, associate professor of history; , assistant professor of American studies; and , associate director of gender studies. , assistant professor of American culture at the University of Michigan, will also participate. Borja is a member of the Indiana Chapter of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, whose mission is to build collective power with AAPI women and girls, and an affiliated researcher with the Stop AAPI Hate Reporting Center. , a Notre Dame doctoral candidate in history, will moderate. A registration link is to come.

“The surge in violence against Asians and Asian Americans in the United States over the past year is deplorable, but sadly unsurprising,” said , director of Notre Dame’s Gender 91��Ƶ Program. “Such racist violence has deep roots in U.S. society, and those roots must be made visible and carefully analyzed if we are to understand the current situation and develop effective strategies for expanding social justice for all. That many of the victims of the recent violence are also women demands an intersectional lens that takes gender into account alongside the other identities in play, and thus explores the complexity of these xenophobic acts and the structural inequities that sustain them.”

“Many grief-stricken students, faculty��and staff have approached the Liu Institute in the wake of the Atlanta shootings, which claimed innocent lives, including those of six women of Asian descent,” said , director of the Liu Institute. “We are grateful to be able to lend support for programming to respond to this unfathomable tragedy, and to further the necessary work of confronting and dismantling systems of white supremacy and anti-Asian bias. We’re confident these events will serve as steps toward this effort.”

The events are cosponsored by the , , , , ��and Association of Graduate Historians.

Originally published by Liu Institute at on April 1.