Nobel Peace Prize recipient Elie Wiesel will be the commencement speaker for the 114th
annual summer commencement ceremonies at Brigham Young University, Thursday, Aug. 17.Wiesel will also receive an honorary doctor of humanities degree from BYU at the graduation exercises, scheduled at 5:30 p.m. in the Marriott Center.
Wiesel's first-hand witness as a survivor of the Holocaust has led him to use his talents as an author, journalist and storyteller to defend human rights and peace throughout the world.
The Boston University professor has worked on behalf of oppressed people for much of his adult life.
On awarding him the 1986 Peace Prize, the Nobel committee described Wiesel as "one of the most important spiritual leaders and guides in an age when violence, repression and racism continue to characterize the world. He is a messenger to mankind: His message is one of peace, atonement and human dignity."
Wiesel and his family were deported by the Nazis to Auschwitz when he was 14.
His mother and younger sister died there. Wiesel and his father were later transported to Buchenwald, where his father died before the camp was liberated by the Allies in 1945.
Three months after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Wiesel established the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity.