In 1997, he was appointed the personal envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to mediate direct talks between the parties to the dispute over Western Sahara. The Yale Center for International and Area Studies is an integral part of campus life and instruction at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The Center coordinates Yale's teaching and research on international affairs and the study of foreign societies and cultures. George Herbert Walker, Jr. was a distinguished graduate of the Yale Class of 1927, a Fellow of the Yale Corporation, a director of the Yale Alumni Fund, and Yale Medal recipient. The George Herbert Walker, Jr. lecture fund in International Studies enables the Center to bring to the Yale campus a series of eminent scholars and public figures to speak to the Yale community on topics that extend and complement existing course offerings.
Speakers deliver a public address and meet with students and faculty on an informal basis.
Previous Walker lecturers have included former General Brent Scowcroft , former Secretary General to the United Nations Boutrous Boutrous Ghali , and Secretary of State Madeline K. Albright , among others.