Hadassah Lieberman speaks at Fletcher

Hadassah Lieberman, who spoke at Tufts Wednesday, was the first speaker in the newly organized Global Women series.

Wife of Senator Joseph Lieberman, she spoke of both her husband's campaign for the presidency in 2004, women's increasingly important role in the world, the characteristics of good leadership, and her personal experiences with family and politics.

She spoke to a crowd of mostly graduate students in Wednesday's address.

In her address to the audience, Lieberman offered indirect criticism of President Bush's economic policy, especially regarding this year's tax cut, and insisted that her husband would focus on improving the economy to benefit working families.

Lieberman outlined her personal vision of presidential leadership.

"We need to be led by integrity. We need a president we can trust. You have to know how to run the economy, and you have to apply the lessons of leadership," she said.

Lieberman repeatedly referred to her husband as an "independent-minded" democrat.

In addition to campaigning, Lieberman also shared personal anecdotes about her family life. "The hardest challenge in my life has always been the balance between public and private life," she said. "I'm giving up so many parts of my personal life to help my husband. Sometimes I did it all, sometimes I couldn't do it all, and sometimes I just cried. But we have a mutual dream."

Regarding gender roles in the US, Lieberman said, "The role of women has always been a difficult one. I'm a product of the 70s, and it's so encouraging to see women here together breaking down the barriers in a man's world."

The Global Women series has set forth the following three-tiered mission: 1) to provide a forum for the Fletcher community to connect with female role models and their increasing role in policy making; 2) to learn skills in areas such as leadership and communication through workshops and trainings; and 3) to reach out to the wider community, specifically interacting with disadvantaged and marginalized women.

"We consider ourselves an initiative, not a student club, because we want Global Women's mission to become ingrained in the culture of Fletcher," said director of Global Women Rebecca Kinyon. "We want to see its mission embraced by faculty and staff as well as students, so that ultimately curriculum, hiring, and fields of study will reflect an increasing awareness of gender issues."

Fellow Global Women founding member and Fletcher student Alexandra Moller added after Lieberman's address, "It's a great sign of things to come that we have such an esteemed woman as our first speaker."

Moller was quite happy with the event's outcome. "It was just what I had hoped for. The speech had some really good energy," she said. "She [Lieberman] seemed like she felt open and relaxed. I just hope people got a sense of what a down-to-earth person she is, and that she and Joe are doing this for the right reasons."

Mrs. Lieberman visited four universities in the greater Boston area on Wednesday, including Tufts, Brandeis University, Boston College Law School, and Harvard University.