Lectures, symposium attract world foreign policy experts

John Burns

Foreign policy experts and national media figures, including a Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent for The New York Times and a former White House press secretary, will visit the Newark campus, beginning later this month, as part of two special programs exploring international issues.

On Wednesday, Feb. 21, a free, public symposium on "The United State in the Middle East: Politics, Religion & Violence" will be presented in Mitchell Hall, sponsored by the Center for International Studies in the College of Arts and Science.

On Thursday, Feb. 22, "Global Agenda 2001," a series of seven lectures on global issues facing the new president, worldwide officials and the news media, will open with a talk by former White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry.

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The United States in the Middle East

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This one-day symposium will be moderated by Ralph Begleiter, Rosenberg Professor of Communication and Distinguished Journalist-in-Residence at UD.

Presentations will be made by

* John Burns, senior correspondent for The New York Times, will discuss "Reflections from the Frontlines." An Islamic affairs correspondent, Burns has twice received the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting–for his work on Afganistan's Taliban fighters in 1997 and his coverage in Bosnia in 1993.

* James A. Bill, professor of government at the College of William and Mary, will talk on "Politics and Petroleum in the Persian Gulf." He has conducted field research in Iran, Kuwait, Yemen, Oman, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. He has presented his views on the Middle East on television news specials and in national publications.

* Sara Roy, from Harvard University and a consultant for Interaction in Washington, D.C., will present "The Palestinian-Israeli Crisis: An Analysis." She is a frequent consultant for the United Nations and the United States Agency for International Development. She also assists private development and human rights organizations.

* Bernard Reich, a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, will speak on "Israel and the Peace Process." Reich also serves as a consultant on the Middle East to various U.S. government agencies. He chairs the Department of State's Foreign Service Institute.

* Augustus Richard Norton, professor of international relations and anthropology at Boston University, will address "The United States in the Middle East: The Quest for Illusive Stability." He has written extensively on strategies of reform in Middle Eastern regimes. He taught political science at the US. Military Academy and headed the New York University project on civil society in the Middle East.

General discussion periods will follow each presentation. There also will be a final symposium discussion and summary statement by Begleiter.

The program begins at 9 a.m., with an introduction of President David P. Roselle by Suzanne Austin Alchon, history and the dean's office, arts and science. In connection with the Center for International Studies, she lead a group of faculty members in conceptualizing how international issues could be infused into faculty and student lives. This symposium represents the center's inaugural event.

After welcoming remarks by Roselle, Dean Thomas M. DiLorenzo, arts and science, will introduce the moderator and speakers. Provost Mel Schiavelli will give closing remarks.

The symposium is free and open to the public. For more information, call 831-2793 or visit the web site at [www. udel.edu/main/ symposium].

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Global agenda 2001

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On Thursday, Feb. 22, former White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry kicks off "Global Agenda 2001," a major foreign policy lecture series. The free public series will focus on global challenges facing the new U.S. administration in Washington, D.C.

McCurry, who spoke for President Bill Clinton from the White House podium during most of the 1990s, also served as the chief foreign policy spokesperson at the Department of State. McCurry's talk, and all subsequent lectures, will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Clayton Hall.

From Arab-Israeli tensions and Persian Gulf issues in the Middle East to U.S. trade and relations with Russia and China to conflicts in central Europe and Africa to lingering threats of terrorism and nuclear weapons development, the series will survey current geopolitical challenges facing the new U.S. administration and worldwide officials and news media in 2001.

Other presentations and speakers include

* Jamie Shea, director of public affairs for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Brussels, who gained worldwide attention as NATO's spokesman during the bombing of Kosovo, March 1;

* Marwan Muasher, Jordan's ambassador to the United States, an instrumental figure in Arab-Israeli peace negotiations during the 1990s, which led to the 1994 Israel-Jordan peace treaty, March 15;

* Harriet Elam, U.S. ambassador to Senegal and a career foreign service officer, who is among the first women ambassadors representing the U.S. abroad, March 22;

* Jaime FlorCruz, Time magazine's correspondent in China and Beijing bureau chief for nearly three decades, widely considered one of the most thoughtful observers of China, April 12;

* Robert Peirce, counselor for political, Northern Ireland, press and public affairs of the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., who also was private secretary to three British foreign secretaries and a key player in the Hong Kong handover to China, April 26; and

* David Hoffman, UD alumnus and foreign editor of The Washington Post, just concluding a stint as Moscow bureau chief and formerly Jerusalem bureau chief and correspondent covering foreign policy during the James Baker years at the U.S. State Department, May 10.

The "Global Agenda" lecture series, sponsored by the World Affairs Council of Wilmington and UD, is being coordinated by Begleiter, under the auspices of the departments of Communication and of Political Science and International Relations.

In addition to giving the public lectures, guest speakers will engage in seminar discussions with students enrolled in Begleiter's new "Global Agenda" course on foreign policy and the media. Students will prepare for each lecture with discussions and readings on topics to be covered by the guest speakers.

Begleiter, who served for 18 years as CNN's world affairs correspondent, said his goal is to build and sustain interest in foreign policy issues among both students and the public.

"In an era when nearly everyone's work is linked to the politics and economies of other countries, it's important that students and others in the community understand those connections and the political forces at work around the world," Begleiter said.

"At a time when news media often report international issues only when there's a crisis, we hope the lectures will provide students and the public with access to thoughtful practitioners of diplomacy and foreign affairs reporting," he said.

For more information about the Global Agenda 2001 series, call 831-2355 or check the program's web site at [www.udel.edu/IPSS/global].

Mike McCurry