Rick Halperin believes the greatest tool for change is education about social justice. As the Director of the Human Rights Program at SMU, Halperin says learning to commit to the defense, protection and advocacy of people’s rights is the key to helping society improve. It’s not the only way, but society is never going to improve without educating people about human rights.

That belief in education and human dignity started early for Halperin, shaped by the values his mother instilled in him as a child.

“She raised me and my sister to believe in dignity and in treating people right,” he said. “It wasn’t rocket science, just be a good person. So I vowed that I wanted to work for a society without that anger, violence and discrimination.”

He leans forward, hands folded together, as he speaks about the history of what he’s been through as a Human Rights Program educator.

“I never wanted to do anything else,” he said.

From a young age, his world was shaped by ideas and ideals that led him to study history and philosophy and minor in political science at George Washington University, hoping to become a civil rights attorney. Later, when he decided to study law at SMU, he figured that the law is used by many people for their own benefit.

“I saw quickly that law school was nothing more than a good old boys’ club,” he said. “It’s not an idealistic profession but a practical profession for the privileged. That’s who makes most of the laws, and it’s pathetic.”

Halperin left law school after two years to pursue a master’s degree in history and says his path suddenly became clear. In 1985, he came to SMU to teach history, and by 1989, after being elected to the board of Amnesty International USA, he proposed a course he had put together to the department chair. That course, now called “The Struggle for Human Rights: America’s Dilemma,” launched in the spring of 1990. From then on, it became his life’s work.

The program is one of only nine universities in the U.S. that offer a bachelor’s degree in Human Rights. When Halperin started the program, he knew young people cared about the world, wanted a better society and were attracted to idealism and social justice issues, just as he was at the age of 18. He believes the most significant part of his job is to help students stop saying, ‘they didn’t know.’

“They have to know what kind of world they’re in, what’s happening everywhere, not just here in Dallas or here in America,” he said.

He believes life is simple when it comes to human rights: it either supports and defends people’s dignity, or it doesn’t.

“The only failure is the failure to do nothing,” he said.

Halperin’s eyes fill with emotion as he recalls a moment he never expected to witness, an execution.

Frank McFarlane was charged with killing a woman in a bar in Fort Worth and had been on death row for over six years. Halperin, who at the time was well-known for visiting other people on death row in Dallas, was contacted by McFarlane. When he was put to death, he asked Halperin to be present during his execution.

Halperin was speechless and caught off guard. McFarlane faced him and said, “You teach about it, so why don’t you witness it and experience it firsthand so that you can talk about it to your students?”

Halperin says he needed to hear that and accepted McFarlane’s offer because he believes no one should die alone and surrounded solely by those responsible for their execution. He stood next to McFarlane’s mother and described the execution as one of the most horrific experiences of his life.

“I see that every day in my mind,” he said.

Halperin believes none of the countries with the death penalty can claim to have strong human rights.

“The government’s decision to kill someone in the name of justice is not only wrong, but also harmful to society’s commitment to human dignity,” he said.

Halperin believes that ideally, people can be rehabilitated so they can return to society as productive human beings. While he doesn’t want to witness another execution, he says he feels responsible for supporting those in their final moments by being present, no matter what they’ve done.

“It’s a serious request from somebody,” he said. “Who am I to say no? I’m mentally prepared if it comes.”

His commitment to human dignity extends beyond the prison walls. His first visit to Auschwitz during Thanksgiving in 1968 was a personal experience that felt like an awakening.

“I’ll never forget the scale of what I was seeing,” he said. “It left me stunned.”

After that, he knew he wanted to bring others there so they could see for themselves.

“The trips were hard and painfully cold, and I thought about the people who had suffered and been exposed to the elements without protection,” he said. “I didn’t want my students to be comfortable while walking through those sites. I wanted them to feel even a fraction of the hardship, the cruelty, that people endured there.”

In 1996, Halperin led students to Holocaust sites in Poland for the first time to pay tribute to the men, women and children who were murdered and to honor the strength of those who survived.

“It wasn’t just what they had read in books or seen in movies,” he said. “It was standing in those places, surrounded by the remnants of a genocide.”

He describes students’ reactions as often shaken, emotional and overwhelmed, but never regretful of visiting the death camps.

SMU Alumnus Ross Yenerich participated in the Holocaust pilgrimage. He described it not as a fun trip, but as one he will remember. Before traveling to Poland, he said he had little perspective on human rights.

“After going on the trip, I feel that it is my duty more than ever to stand up for the voiceless and advocate for equal treatment of all peoples in all places,” Yenerich wrote in an email. “There really is no such thing as a lesser human.”

In spring 2025, he was enrolled in Dr. Halperin’s “America’s Dilemma” course and described Dr. Halperin as inspirational.

“Although he is much more than an inspiration, I think he greatly inspires those lucky enough to be in his presence and learn from him,” he wrote.

Joci Caldwell-Ryan, Director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Department at SMU and Halperin’s longtime colleague, said she has been visiting genocide sites for over 25 years.

“When I had the opportunity to go the first time, I jumped on it,” she said.

Back in 1998, a room that once existed beneath the stairs on the east side of Dallas Hall was their war zone.

“You know, Halperin and I used to fight over the copy machine,” Caldwell-Ryan said. “I admire him tremendously, and I think he’s a model for what a teacher-activist can be.”

Sherry Aikman, Human Rights program coordinator since 2010, describes Halperin as being passionate but very quiet.

“He believes so strongly in the things he stands for, but he doesn’t make a show of it,” Aikman said. “He just walks the line and keeps the faith. He’s a good man.”

After the Poland trip in 2005, Lauren Embry, a graduate student, and her sister reached out to Halperin to meet up.

“They told me they wanted to give a significant gift to help create a Human Rights Program at SMU and they asked if I would be willing to direct it,” Halperin said. “I can’t explain what I felt. It was the kind of moment I’d been waiting for my whole life, and I knew this was the next step, the opportunity to create something that could truly make a difference.”

The two sisters donated $1 million, and five months later, the program was launched in July 2006.

“Lauren saw an injustice and decided to do something about it,” Halperin said. “It all started with one person, one transformative experience, who was willing to make it happen.”

Halperin believes the program is for students to understand their power and how their role can make a change in the world.

“I’m an average guy but I’m deeply committed to this particular issue [Human Rights] and I hope that others would find their commitment on these issues because everybody hasn’t,” Halperin said. “Start to make a change. Start to work for a change. That’s why we are here.”