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Lech Walesa
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Dana Navarro
May 18, 2009 (773) 442-4227
d-navarro@neiu.edu
Lech Walesa, former President of the Republic of Poland, to Visit Northeastern Illinois University for
Building Dedication and Celebration
WHAT: Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) will hold a formal dedication ceremony for the naming of Lech Walesa Hall in honor of Mr. Walesa, former President of the Republic of Poland. This dedication will coincide with the City of Chicago’s celebration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of communism in Poland—a historic event in which President Walesa played an instrumental role.
President Walesa has agreed to attend this special event, which is free and open to the public.
WHEN: Friday, May 29 at 2 p.m.
WHERE: Northeastern Illinois University
North veranda of Lech Walesa Hall (formerly the Classroom Building)
3701 W. Bryn Mawr Ave. in Chicago
Free parking will be available on campus. DETAILS: Nobel Peace prize-winner Lech Walesa is largely responsible for the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. In the 1970s, Walesa worked as an electrician in a Gdansk shipyard and went on to found Solidarity, the independent, noncommunist trade union in Poland. Led by Walesa’s vision and courage, Solidarity fought a peaceful revolution for the dignity of human labor in the Eastern Bloc. Because of Walesa and the union’s efforts, the establishment of a noncommunist government in Poland was initiated in 1989. The following year, Walesa was elected President of the Republic of Poland, an office he served until 1995. Walesa’s election to this post served as a striking victory for anti-communist candidates and led to a succession of anti-communist revolutions in Central and Eastern Europe.
Named the “Most Diverse University in the Midwest” by U.S. News and World Report, Northeastern Illinois University serves more than 11,000 students in the Chicago area. The University is strongly tied to the Polish community and is a leading institution of higher education in the United States in the area of student exchange programs with Poland.
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