As barriers between nations fall, the 21st century world will only become interconnected under an unprejudiced rule of law, said President William Jefferson Clinton (SFS ’68) in an address at the Georgetown University Law Center on Tuesday.

As the keynote speaker at a ceremony celebrating the Law Center’s plans to build a new International Law Center with money donated by philanthropist Eric K. Hotung (CAS ’51), Clinton praised the Law Center for its commitment to the study of international law.

“Human rights are not some Western value that we impose on the rest of the world,” Clinton said. “Humanity’s best hope for a future of peace and prosperity comes from free people governed by a rule of law.”

From the presidential podium on the 300-seat Moot Courtroom’s stage, Clinton challenged the audience of Law School faculty and students to work to improve the entire world, not just the United States.

“We are in a position to make the world more prosperous if we don’t crawl into a shell and act selfish,” he said.

Clinton praised Hotung’s generosity on behalf of Georgetown and the world. Earlier this year, Hotung purchased and donated a hospital ship to help refugees in East Timor,and his $5 million donation to construct the International Law Center will help Georgetown train national and world leaders, Clinton said.

“Georgetown has always been there for America’s body politic, and we are all the better for it,” he said, adding that Georgetown Law Center has given more talent to his administration than any other school. White House Chief of Staff John Podesta (L ’76) and numerous other members of Clinton’s White House staff are Law Center graduates.

He also praised the Law Center for its work earlier this year in training several representatives of the Chinese government to work with the World Tradition Organization.

Humanitarian work, like the kind Clinton praised, is only one of the ways the Law Center sets itself apart from other top national law schools, according to Law Center Dean Judith Areen. The school’s commitment to excellence in education, inclusive and diverse community and dedication to educating leaders makes the law school unique, Areen said.

The Eric K. Hotung International Law Center is part of the school’s commitment to global education, University President Leo J. O’Donovan, S.J. said.

“This is a cosmopolitan place of learning committed to educating students who will be citizens of the world,” O’Donovan said.

Plans for the Hotung center include the Law Center’s international library collection, administration and faculty offices, seminar rooms and working spaces, according to law center officials. Construction will not begin before fall 2001 as part of the Law Center’s Campus Completion Project, which includes a health and fitness building and underground parking.

The $5 million pledge marks Hotung’s second contribution to the university, which has educated five of his eight children. In 1980, Hotung donated $1 million to the ICC construction project.

However, in his lively speech, Hotung spoke about his reluctant arrival at Georgetown and a lackluster academic career.

Hotung only came to Georgetown because his father, E.S.K Hotung, former vice chairman of the Gold and Silver Exchange in Hong Kong, gave him no choice. “He Shanghaied me out of Shanghai and over to Georgetown,” Hotung said.

“Certain principles were inculcated in my head – honor, integrity and devotion to justice and truth – all this drove me to the brink of dementia, to the utter indifference of the Jesuits,” he said, drawing a playful sneer from O’Donovan.

Turning serious, Hotung spoke about how he fell in love with Georgetown in the mid-1970s, a period in which he served for six years on the university board of directors.

The conclusion of his speech stressed the importance of ethics among educators and lawyers. He remembered how he urged then-university President Tim Healy, S.J., to return a donation, plus interest, to Mohammar Qadafi after the Libyan dictator went on a wave of terrorism.

“Georgetown has a sense of ethics that seems to be lacking in some parts of society,” he said. “Georgetown is an institution where these values [charity and justice] can take new meaning – can produce men and women of chastised mind and spirit.”

This marked the 14th time Clinton has visited Georgetown during his presidency, and the second this academic year. In his last visit earlier this month, Clinton made a major policy announcement, delaying the decision on the missile defense system to his successor.

His 15-minute speech on Tuesday was less substantial – including personal stories and notes of gratitude for the Georgetown faculty members who have helped his administration.

He said the Moot Courtroom reminded him of his law school days at Yale when he and his future wife Hillary Rodham lost in the finals of a moot court competition.

“It was the ’70s and the fashions were not the best,” he said, recalling the remarks of the competition judge, who said Rodham’s blue and bright orange suede outfit might have cost the pair the contest.

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