A renowned American author and civil rights lawyer will arrive on the Island this weekend to talk to Bermuda College faculty and staff and address local lawyers.

Constitutional law professor at New York University School of Law Derrick Bell will address members of the Bermuda Bar Association and visiting law students from Kent University at a reception this Saturday evening.

He will also give a motivational talk to Bermuda College faculty and staff next Tuesday, speaking on university life and ethics, as well as discussing his latest book 'Ethical Ambition: Living a Life of Meaning and Worth', according to college spokeswoman Evelyn James-Barnett.

Professor Bell was invited in part because he is a friend of Bermuda College president Michael Orenduff.

He is staying until Wednesday but will be on hand at the college's Stonington Beach campus to sign copies of his book on Tuesday.

Professor Bell, who was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1930, is a former civil rights lawyer and assistant counsel of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People's (NAACP) legal defence fund. He made history when he became the first African American professor at Harvard University in 1969 but he famously resigned in protest in 1992 after criticising the establishment for the absence of black women on campus.

He also resigned as dean of the University of Oregon Law School when the faculty refused to hire a qualified Asian-American woman.

According to the New York Times, Professor Bell's writing is "fascinating and provocative... filled with imagination, fantasy and unabashed spirituality".

Mrs. James-Barnett said: "Professor Bell has been hailed as a hero in the United States. He is well known in higher education circles and also for his stance on civil rights."