Pierce's presentation is open to the public and will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Whitsett Room on the fourth floor of Sierra Hall on the west side of the campus at 18111 Nordhoff St. in Northridge.

"Robert Pierce has an incredible background in international diplomacy as well as domestic policing. I am sure that he will offer new perspectives and insight to issues happening around the world and locally," said Mehran Kamrava, acting chair of CSUN's Department of Anthropology and a coordinator for the event.

Pierce was appointed British Consul General at Los Angeles in June 2005. Prior to the appointment, he was head of the political and public affairs section of the British embassy in Washington D.C. for more than five years.

He joined the British diplomatic service in 1977 and has served in China, Hong Kong and at the United Nations in New York. Pierce also was a consultant in Uganda. He was private secretary to three British foreign secretaries--Sir Geoffrey Howe, John Major and Douglas Hurd.

Pierce was a member of the Hong Kong government in the 1980s and 1990s, and from 1993 to 1997 he was the secretary responsible for Hong Kong's external affairs. He was involved for most of the period from 1979 to 1997 in the negotiations with China that culminated with the handover of the city to China in 1997.

Before going to Washington D.C., Pierce was the chief executive of the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland, whose 1999 report formed the basis of policing reforms in the country. The report has been hailed by policing experts around the world as a seminal document for policing in a democratic society.

While in Washington D.C., Pierce continued to work with police departments in the United Kingdom and the United States, developing strong links and best practice exchanges between the two countries.