President of Costa Rica to present Kansas State University Landon Lecture May 19
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
MANHATTAN — Costa Rica President Luis Guillermo Solís will give a Landon Lecture at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 19, in Forum Hall in Kansas State University's Student Union. The lecture is free and the public is invited.
Solís will polish off the busy semester as the fourth Landon Lecture in spring 2016 with an extensive background in education and politics. Before being elected president of Costa Rica in 2014, Solís' political experience included serving as an official of Costa Rica's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as ambassador for Central American affairs and director of foreign policy.
"President Solís' experience in education and politics will provide a stimulating finish to this semester's distinguished Landon Lecture Series, which has a history of bringing many international leaders to the university," said Jackie Hartman, the university's chief of staff, director of community relations and chair of the Landon Lecture Series.
Solís was an associate professor of history at the University of Costa Rica from 1981-1987, serving as a Fulbright scholar at the University of Michigan from 1983-1985. He also worked at Florida Atlantic University where he was coordinator of the Center for the Administration Justice and a researcher for the Latin American and Caribbean Center. He studied history at the University of Costa Rica and earned a master's degree in Latin American studies from Tulane University. Solís has published more than 10 books and written many articles for newspapers and magazines.
Solís will be the second Costa Rican president to give a Landon Lecture, joining Oscar Arias Sanchez who spoke in 1987.
