BINGHAMTON, NY – "Taking the Long View: Genocide Prevention in Today’s World" will be the topic of the Binghamton University Forum luncheon on Wednesday, March 16. A lunch buffet will begin at noon, and the formal program will start at 12:30 p.m. in the South Ballroom of the DoubleTree by Hilton, 225 Water Street, Binghamton.

Owen Pell ‘80, LLD ‘11 litigator and partner at the New York City law firm White & Case Pell, is the guest speaker. He practices litigation relating to the extraterritorial reach of US law, securities litigation, RICO litigation, litigation involving foreign sovereigns and their state-owned entities, and cases involving issues of public international law.

Pell is a litigator and distinguished alumnus who received his BA in political science from Binghamton University in 1980. For the past several years, he has returned to Binghamton to lecture on moral and social responsibilities of corporations and the role of the judiciary in a democratic society. With this talk, he will explain the efforts and importance of formal education to train policymakers and forge networks across the globe.

Currently, Pell works with the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation, and the UN office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect on projects such as genocide prevention and mass atrocity crimes. He also wrote a chapter about corporate behavior and atrocity prevention for Reconstructing Atrocity Prevention (S. Rosenberg ed.), published by Cambridge University Press.

As a supporter of Harpur College at Binghamton University, Pell established a Philosophy, Politics and Law Honors Thesis Fund where participants defend their thesis to a panel of faculty. Students graduate with honors and a thesis prize is awarded each year to one student. Pell also received a Binghamton Alumni Award in May 2002 and the Glenn G. Bartle Distinguished Alumni Award in October 2007. In 2011, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Law and delivered the Commencement address at the University.

The Binghamton University Forum is a membership organization comprised of business, professional and community leaders that brings nationally known authorities to speak at functions throughout the year. For more information, call the Forum office at 607-777-5801 or e-mail buforum@binghamton.edu to RSVP.