BLOOMINGTON -- More than a decade of success with his Central Asia Institute and a New York Times bestseller haven't slowed Greg Mortenson's passion for "promoting peace through education."

On Wednesday, the humanitarian brought that message to Illinois Wesleyan University.

"Since 2007, over 800 schools have been destroyed by the Taliban in Afghanistan - 650 in Pakistan. Why? It's what they fear the most," said Mortenson, a 2009 Nobel Peace Prize nominee who spoke at the annual president's convocation.

"Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time," the book co-written by Mortenson and journalist David Oliver Relin, has sold 3 million copies in 34 nations. A second book, "Stones Into Schools, " will be released in December.

In "Three Cups," readers learn Mortenson's story: After a failed attempt to reach the summit of the world's second tallest mountain, he was stranded in a remote Pakistan village. He learned the children there had no teacher and promised to build a school, developing support over several years.

"Three Cups" was selected for IWU's summer read program for all incoming freshmen. President Dick Wilson called Mortenson's experience a testament that "one person can make a difference in the lives of others."

Mortenson said 8.4 million children, including 2.5 million girls, attend school in Afghanistan. That's up from 2000, when just 800,000 were enrolled -- mostly boys, he said. Key to empowering the people is ensuring girls also are educated, he said.

Mortenson also spoke Wednesday to about 150 Kingsley Junior High eighth graders.