Penn prepares to welcome royalty

Jordan's Queen Noor will visit campus to accept an award for promoting peace. The Wharton School has often been hailed as the crown jewel of the Penn empire. Now, the prestigious business school will play host to actual royalty when Queen Noor of Jordan visits campus on May 8. Noor, 48, is the wife of the late King Hussein I. She will be on campus to receive HOPE Worldwide's Unity Award for the work she and her late husband have done to bring peace to the Middle East. Each year, the Philadelphia-based HOPE Worldwide humanitarian organization presents its Unity Award to a person or couple "who has sacrificed personal liberties for the sake of uniting many in peace." The ceremony will take place at 12:30 p.m. at an invitation-only luncheon at the Inn at Penn. The award is accompanied by a two-year, $50,000 Wharton scholarship given to an admitted MBA student of the recipient's choice. Past Unity Award winners include former South African President Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa and former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalyn. Noor is the first world leader to accept the award on Penn's campus. According to Penn officials, plans for the visit include an afternoon tea with University President Judith Rodin and a private meeting with Wharton Dean Patrick Harker. While security plans have not been finalized, University Police officials said that they did not anticipate any problems in providing the Queen with appropriate security. "Dignitary protection is one of those things we get a lot of practice with around here, so we'll certainly have the appropriate level of protection," Deputy Chief of Investigations Tom King said. "Some of that will probably come from outside agencies, and we fill in those areas that they don't cover." Noor, a Princeton University graduate whose original name was Lisa Halaby, became the first American-born queen of an Arab country when she married Hussein in 1978. Despite her status as a foreigner coming from an extremely liberal background, the Jordanian people soon warmed to the union as they saw her commitment to the royal household -- including raising four children -- and concern for improving Jordan's educational resources. Although Noor's political involvement has been decidedly behind the scenes, she's been an advocate for increased educational and employment opportunities for Arab women and a leader on several international boards devoted to peace. She stood by her husband until his death in February 1999, supporting his work toward creating a lasting peace in the Middle East -- including the 1994 peace treaty he signed with former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, which ended 46 years of war between the nations. Noor will join a long list of world leaders who have visited Penn's campus in recent years. In February, President Clinton was the inaugural speaker of the School of Arts and Sciences' Granoff Forum on the New Economy. Former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed students about world politics at last September's Connaissance lecture; President Carter gave the 1998 Commencement speech; and First Lady Hillary Clinton and Chinese President Jiang Zemin came to campus in 1997.

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