FORUM 2012: BIG ARTS Distinguished Scholars Lecture Series
Click here for Testimonials From Previous FORUM Speakers
The FORUM Lecture Series is sold out. If you are interested in attending this event and do not hold a ticket, please arrive early the night of the lecture. Although we cannot guarantee ticket availability, historically we have had tickets become available the night of the lecture.
Senator Alan K. Simpson
Topic: The Moment of Truth:
Tough Issues Confronting America
Wednesday, February 8, 7:30 PM
Senator Alan K. Simpson is a distinguished politician and lawmaker from the state of Wyoming whom President Barack Obama appointed in 2010 to co-chair the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, most famously known as the Simpson-Bowles Commission. He is a former U.S. Senator from the state of Wyoming (1979-1997) and served in the Wyoming House of Representatives (1964-1977) as Majority Whip, Majority Floor Leader and Speaker Pro-Tem. A native of Cody, Wyoming, Simpson earned a Bachelor of Science in Law from the University of Wyoming in 1954 before joining the U.S. Army in its 2nd Armored Division during the final months of the Army Occupation in Germany. Today, Simpson remains active in his family's Cody-based law firm, Simpson, Kepler & Simpson, wherein he spent nearly two decades practicing law before serving in state and national government.
$35, Series is sold out
Robert Gallucci
Topic: Nuclear Challenge from North Korea
and Other Rogue Nations
Sunday, February 12, 7:30 PM
Robert Gallucci is president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. He served as Dean of Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service for 13 years. From 1998 to 2001 he was appointed by Department of State as Special Envoy to deal with the threat posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction. He also currently serves on the U.S. State Department's International Security Advisory Board.
$35, Series is sold out
Stuart Rothenberg
Topic: 2012 Elections
Sunday, February 19, 7:30 PM
Stuart Rothenberg is editor and publisher of The Rothenberg Political Report, a non-partisan political newsletter covering U.S. House, Senate and gubernatorial campaigns. His political commentary is also regularly published in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The New York Times, and he is a frequent contributing analyst on Meet the Press, Face the Nation and Nightline. Rothenberg provided in-depth political analysis for NewsHour on PBS during both the 2008 and 2010 election cycles. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Colby College and a PhD in political science from the University of Connecticut. Rothenberg has taught at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
$35, Series is sold out
Dr. Geoffrey Kemp
Topic: Changing Geopolitical Balance
in the Greater Middle East
Sunday, February 26, 7:30 PM
As Director of Regional Strategic Programs at the newly renamed Center for the National Interest (formerly The Nixon Center) in Washington, D.C.,
Dr. Geoffrey Kemp is intensely focused on U.S. relations with Iran and Iraq and the geopolitics of energy in the Caspian Basin and Persian Gulf. Dr. Kemp served in the White House during the first Reagan Administration and was Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. He is the author of the 2010 The East Moves West: India, China and Asia's Growing Presence in the Middle East, an exploration of the growing influence of major Asian countries in the Middle East and its impact on American foreign policy. Dr. Kemp received his Ph.D. in political science at M.I.T. and his Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts degrees from Oxford University.
$35, Series is sold out
Dr. Frederick W. Kagan
Topic: War Strategy
Sunday, March 4, 7:30 PM
Dr. Frederick W. Kagan is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute who spends much of his time throughout the year closely monitoring operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq. U.S. Army General David Petraeus, who was appointed by President Barack Obama to head international forces in Afghanistan, hired Dr. Kagan in 2010 as an expert on fighting corruption. A former professor of military history at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Dr. Kagan is also co-author with his father, Donald Kagan, of While America Sleeps: Self-Delusion, Military Weakness, and the Threat to Peace Today. Dr. Kagan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Soviet and East European studies and a Ph.D. in Russian and Soviet military history, both from Yale University.
$35, Series is sold out
Desmond Lachman
Topic: Europe's Threat to the U.S. Economy
Wednesday, March 7, 7:30 PM
Desmond Lachman is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, a non-profit policy think tank based in Washington, D.C., and formerly served as Managing Director and Chief Emerging Market Economic Strategist at Salomon Smith Barney. Lachman previously served as Deputy Director in the International Monetary Fund's Policy and Review Department and was active in staff formulation of its policies toward emerging markets. His writings on topics such as economic policy and reform, fund arrangements, import restrictions and exchange rates are regularly published in The Wall Street Journal, Economist, The Washington Post and The New York Times. Lachman received a Pd.D. in economics from Cambridge University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Witwatersrand.
$35, Series is sold out
Past Events:
Commissioner Deborah A. Gist
Topic: Education
Sunday, January 8, 7:30 PM
As Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, Deborah A. Gist is responsible for providing information, resources and technical assistance on educational matters to schools and residents of Rhode Island. Gist served as the first state superintendent of education in Washington, D.C., a role tasked with the implementation of critical accountability systems mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Gist holds a master's degree in Public Administration from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government and a Master of Arts in Elementary Education from the University of South Florida. Honored twice as "Teacher of the Year" at schools in Fort Worth, Texas, and Tampa, Florida, Gist enjoyed 10 years of direct service to our nation's schools before also becoming a senior policy analyst for the U.S. Department of Education. Her esteemed career and experience in education make Gist an expert on both current policies and future developments in U.S. education.
$35, Series is sold out
Dr. Michael A. Levi
Topic: The Future of Energy
Sunday, January 22, 7:30 PM
An expert on energy, climate change, arms control and nuclear terrorism, Dr. Michael A. Levi is the David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and Director of the CFR program on energy security and climate change. Dr. Levi is a former Director of the Federation of American Scientists' Strategic Security Project and author of On Nuclear Terrorism (University Press). His 2005 monograph, Untapped Potential: U.S. Science and Technology Cooperation with the Islamic World, is the first comprehensive study of science and technology in the Muslim world. Dr. Levi has testified before Congress and presented expert scientific evidence in essays published in Foreign Affairs, Nature, Scientific American and The Wall Street Journal. He holds a Bachelors of Science in mathematical physics from Queen's University, a Master of Arts in physics from Princeton University and a PhD in war studies from the University of London.
$35, Series is sold out
