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Dr Lori Murrys Seminar Comments

Class of 1960 Distinguished Chair Seminar Notes

The seminar was enhanced with visits to Washington, DC, including a World Affairs Council Dinner Program that featured as keynote speaker General Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. General Dempsey and several of the special guests at the dinner -including NASA Administrator General Bolden, and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace- stayed after the dinner to speak with the midshipmen and take photos. The midshipmen also attended the annual Carnegie Endowment Conference on Nuclear Policy in April. There they had the opportunity to attend sessions with a number of leading American and international policy makers, including the current head of the IAEA, who discussed the challenges the IAEA had confronted monitoring Iran’s nuclear program. Senator John McCain also hosted the midshipmen for an hour-long discussion on the current national security threats facing the U.S., including a detailed description of the challenges we are facing with Iran and North Korea.

The midshipmen were also honored with a guest visit and lecture by Ambassador Robert Kimmitt, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany and Deputy Secretary of Treasury. Ambassador Kimmitt shared his perspective on the challenges and opportunities of globalization, including the economic tools to control and deter proliferation.

My own professional activities during the semester, which also helped enhance the class instruction, included my participation in the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland in January, and my participation in the Trilateral Commission Spring Meeting in Berlin. During the semester, my opinion piece on Syria and Chemical Weapons was also published in the Huffington Post, and I spoke at various fora including a World Boston public education program on NATO, and NAFAC, where I moderated a panel on current threats and challenges. I attended numerous policy sessions in Washington, DC and in New York, including meetings at the Council on Foreign Relations, CS1S, the Brookings Institute and the Atlantic Council.

It has been a privilege to hold the Class of 1960 Distinguished Chair and I look forward to the semester ahead.

– Dr. Lori E. Murray