Mills College alumnae and Congresswoman Barbara Lee has been nominated by President Obama to be a U.S. representative in the 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
According to Congresswoman Lee’s website, if she accepts the nomination, Lee will continue serving her home district while adopting new duties in the U.N session that begins Sept. 17th.
Martha Johnson, assistant professor of government, believes that Lee will make a successful U.N representative.
“[Lee] embodies the ideals of the UN in her steadfast commitment to international peace and diplomacy. She would bring important credibility and diplomatic skill to the UN,” Johnson said in an email. “Her appointment would represent another example of the amazing political accomplishments of women’s college graduates in the US.”
In a statement on her website, Lee said she is “deeply honored” to have been nominated.
“The United Nations is a critical body in our global community, and is essential to our shared future,” Lee said in a press release. “This nomination comes at a time when tensions in our world are at a fever-pitch, and I believe now more than ever that the United States must fully engage the United Nations and the international community to ensure a safer and more peaceful world.”
For students at Mills, Lee’s nomination represents yet another time when a member of the Mills community has the chance to influence the world.
“She offers an incredibly valuable perspective as she is a woman of color and a Bay Area native,” Kendall Anderson, a senior political, legal and economic analysis major, said. “ I am honored to attend the same institution as her and glad to see that Mills students and alumni continue to positively impact the world.”
