A memorial service organized by the World Affairs Council of Atlanta and Morehouse College honoring the late Nelson Mandela brought Cedric Suzman, the council’s executive vice president and director of programming, out from behind the scenes, Wayne Lord, the council’s founding president, recalled at Dr. Suzman’s retirement dinner Dec. 14.
Dr. Lord, who himself retired last year and has been replaced by Charles Shapiro, gave an impassioned overview of Dr. Suzman’s career during the event that attracted 230 of Atlanta’s academic, business and civic leaders on behalf of his friend and colleague’s years of service in the city.
Dr. Suzman’s career stretched in Atlanta from 1974 when he taught at the Georgia Institute of Technology, through his years at the Southern Center for International Studies, which he helped launch in 1977, and then as the executive vice president and director of programming at the World Affairs Council.
“In his career he probably has organized 1,000 programs,” Dr. Lord said portraying Dr. Suzman as a behind-the-scenes impresario with a bulging rolodex and an indomitable will in attracting world leaders to participate as speakers and panelists at local events.
But it was the service for former President Mandela where Dr. Suzman held up his fist along with the other civil rights leaders that most clearly revealed the passion and devotion to his work, Dr. Lord said.
Born in South Africa, Dr. Suzman was active in opposing the apartheid regime and assisted his aunt, Helen Suzman, in her lengthy political career as the only parliamentarian who was unequivocally opposed to apartheid for 13 years from 1961 to 1974.
Although Dr. Suzman received a master’s of business and a doctor of business administration degrees from Harvard University, Dr. Lord said pointedly that given the current immigration policies in the U.S., some political leaders today might not have allowed him to enter the country.
Dr. Suzman’s role in launching the council was underscored by Dr. Lord, who told Global Atlanta that he gave important credibility to the prospects for the new council because of his experience and success with putting on important programs while at the Southern Center for International Studies.
After only five years in existence, the World Affairs Council of Atlanta is ranked as one of the top 10 nationally and has flourished with an innovative relationship with Georgia State and the university’s Robinson College of Business.
Established as an independent 501c3 non-profit, the council was housed as a separate entity in the Georgia State University Foundation.
According to Dr. Lord, this arrangement, especially because he was granted a teaching position at the Robinson College, while Dr. Suzman taught in the executive education program, provided the university with oversight authority.
“The fact that we had doctorates from Harvard and Georgetown gave us credibility in the academic community,” Dr. Lord added.
At the same time, the council remained independent and was in a position to reach out to local Atlanta universities and the greater University System of Georgia.
Both Dr. Lord and Mark Becker, the president of Georgia State, emphasized the center’s interest in reaching out to other institutions in its programming and related activities.
The notable speakers and attendees at the event held at the headquarters of United Parcel Service Inc. were a testament to the respect that Dr. Suzman has garnered over the years.
These included Ambassador Charles Shapiro, president of the World Affairs Council; Mayor Kasim Reed; David Abney, chief executive officer of UPS and chairman of the council; Mark Becker, president of Georgia State University;
Clyde Tuggle, senior vice president and chief public affairs and communications office of the Coca-Cola Co.; Dr. Suzman’s son, Andrew Suzman, executive vice president and director, the Capital Group Companies; and Peter White, president of the Southern Center for International Studies.
A keynote address was delivered by Stuart Eizenstat, partner of the Washington law firm Covington and Burling; deputy secretary of the treasury and under secretary of state and former U.S. ambassador to the European Union.
For another Global Atlanta article about Dr. Suzman’s retirement dinner, click here.
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