The department of History and Political Science welcomes the return of the U.S. Army War College Eisenhower Series College Program. The return of the popular lecture series will mark the third time the series has been held at Southeastern.
The Eisenhower Series College Program will begin with three sessions on Monday, April 16. The first two sessions, called “North Korea-A Wicked Problem” and “Wounded Warriors” will be held in the Student Union Ballroom from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. The third session, “Iran’s Strategic Objectives” will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Alumni Center. The final session, “NATO and Operations in Libya” will be held on Tuesday, April 17 from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. in Fayard Hall Room 109. All sessions are free and open to the public.
“They’re talking about things that relate to political policy and are frequently able to address at least recent military history if not more than that,” said William Robison, department head of History and Political Science. “It’s the kind of stuff we’re happy for our majors to learn about and really any of our students to learn about. The War College pays for it. They come here, they do a service for us, they charge us nothing for it and we end up benefiting.”
The Eisenhower Series College Program is the U.S. Army War College’s communication and outreach program designed to encourage dialogue on national security and other public policy issues between students and the public. One of the program’s focuses is students and faculty at academic institutions.
The military officers who attend the war college are all in the process of obtaining the Master of Strategic Studies degree. There will be six military officers coming to Southeastern, each with the rank of lieutenant colonel or higher. The officers will be a mix of the four service branches.
The speakers will be Capt. Stephen Krotow, Col. Michael Marti, Col. Dave Morrissey, Lt. Col. Tony Nesbitt, Col. Scotty Patton and Lt. Col. Brain Scott.
“These are all very impressive individuals, both in their leadership presence and intellectual abilities,” said Dr. Harry Laver, associate professor of history and the history department’s military historian. “I would strongly recommend that everyone should attend at least one session.”
The majority of each discussion will consist of a question and answer session.
“These guys are really interesting and they’re also entertaining,” said Robison. “You can ask anything and they’ll do their best to address it.”
The first Eisenhower series was held in 2010 and was arranged by Judge Albert Kuhn, previously Southeastern faculty and 2002 Alumnus of the Year.
“It’s unusual for them to go to a university more than one time, but the guys who came in 2010 enjoyed themselves and we enjoyed what they had to present,” said Robison. “We persuaded them to come back here, with Judge Kuhn’s help.”
Dr. Margaret Gonzalez-Perez, professor of political science, highly recommends the lecture panels.
“I have attended their lecture panels since they have been coming to Southeastern and I offer my students extra credit to attend because the presentations offer information and background on subjects that are not routinely available,” said Gonzalez-Perez. “In my opinion, the best part of the program is the combination of both academic and military expertise that the panelists bring to the topics. They not only have academic training and scholarly knowledge, but are also career military officers with years of experience in the field and specialized military training and expertise in areas critical to the understanding of global politics.”
While this is the third year the War College has visited Southeastern, it may be the last.
“We don’t know if they’re going to keep coming every year. It’s really up to them,” said Robison. “We would love to have them keep coming, but it’s a question of whether they’re willing to do so or interested to do so.”
For more information contact the department of History and Political Science at 985-549-2109.