Haley, the former governor of South Carolina who served nearly two years as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, is the first speaker in Elon University's 2019-20 Speaker Series.
Elon University will welcome Nikki Haley to campus on Sept. 27 for the first event in the 2019-20 Elon University Speaker Series. Haley will be the featured speaker during the university’s Fall Convocation, which begins at 3:30 p.m. in Schar Center.
Haley served as the 29th U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 2017 to 2019 and as the 116th governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017. At the United Nations, Haley ensured the American people saw value for their investment, introducing reforms that made the organization more efficient, transparent and accountable. In a two-year period, she negotiated $1.3B in savings, including rightsizing U.N. peacekeeping missions to make them more effective and targeted while improving their ability to protect civilians. As U.N. ambassador, Haley championed human rights and challenged human rights violators across the globe, standing up to oppressive regimes in Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and Russia. During the U.S. presidency of the U.N. Security Council, she hosted the first-ever session devoted solely to promoting human rights.
A native of Bamberg, South Carolina, Haley is the daughter of Indian immigrants and a graduate of Clemson University. In 2010, she became the first female and first minority to be elected governor of South Carolina and won reelection in 2014.
Under her leadership, South Carolina was a national leader in economic development, with the unemployment rate hitting a 15-year low, and the state seeing more than $20 billion in new capital investment and the creation of over 85,000 new jobs. She ushered in the state’s largest education reform in decades by making education funding more equitable for schools in South Carolina’s poorest communities, prioritizing reading in early grades and equipping classrooms with the latest technology.
Admission is $15 for members of the public, but tickets are available for free with an Elon ID. Tickets are available at the Center for the Arts Box Office which is open 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Call (336) 278-5610 for ticket information. Tickets may also be purchased online here.