We have some great events lined-up for the Fall Semester. Here is a brief outline of the events we have planned.
First Senate Debate (September 22 at 8:30 PM):
How the United States should deal with a rising China - Featuring Professors John Ikenberry and Aaron Friedberg.
-Whig Hall Senate Chamber
This kickoff event will be particularly exciting because Professor Friedberg just wrote a very well-received book on this very subject called A Contest for Supremacy: China, America, and the Struggle for Mastery in Asia. If you’d like more information on the book, I suggest that you read Gary Schmitt’s review in the Weekly Standard.
Following the event will be a dessert reception with delicious food from Olives Greek Restaurant in Princeton.
The Ground Zero Mosque Controversy: Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf
Monday, September 19 – 4:30 PM in the Whig Hall Senate Chamber
Join the American Whig Cliosophic Society for our first event of the year as we host Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, leading proponent of the Ground Zero Islamic Community Center and moderate Muslim leader, on Monday, September 19 at 4:30 in the Whig Hall Senate Chamber. The Founder of the American Society for Muslim Advancement and the architect of the Cordoba Initiative, Imam Feisal has dedicated his life to building bridges between Muslims and the West. Ten years after 9/11, come listen and engage with Imam Feisal as he discusses the controversy and how “what’s right with America is what’s right with Islam.” Co-sponsored by the Muslim Student Association.
Peter Thiel
Tuesday, September 27 – 4:30 PM in the Whig Hall Senate Chamber
Thiel is an American entrepreneur, hedge fund manager, libertarian and venture capitalist of German descent. With Elon Musk and Max Levchin, Thiel co-founded PayPal and was its CEO. He currently serves as president of Clarium Capital, a global macro hedge fund with under $700M in assets under management, and a managing partner in The Founders Fund, a $275 million venture capital fund that he launched with Ken Howery and Luke Nosek in 2005. He was an early investor in Facebook, the popular social-networking site, and sits on the company’s board of directors. Thiel was ranked #365 on the Forbes 400 in 2010, with a net worth of US$1.5 billion. However, this number now underestimates his wealth as his Facebook share alone, at a 2010 valuation, is worth US$1.7 billion. Peter Thiel lives in San Francisco, California.
Previous Speaker’s Program Events – Spring 2011:
Congressman Donald Payne and Mia Farrow: “What Lies Ahead: Prospects for Peace in Sudan”
Friday, March 25th – 2:30 PM in the Whig Hall Senate Chamber
Congressman Donald M. Payne (D-NJ) and actress and humanitarian Mia Farrow will give the inaugural lecture of the Distinguished Speakers Series titled “What Lies Ahead: Prospects for Peace in Sudan.” This event will take place at 2:30 PM on Friday, March 25th in the Senate Chamber of Whig Hall. This event is open to the public.
In addition to her humanitarian work, Mia Farrow is a Golden Globe Award-winning actress. She is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and has engaged in several humanitarian missions in Sudan, Chad, the Central African Republic, Haiti and Uganda. Through her website (MiaFarrow.org), blogs and public speaking engagements, Ms. Farrow seeks to raise awareness about human rights violations, war crimes and humanitarian crises in Sudan and neighboring countries. Her editorials about Sudan have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, on CNN.com and The Huffington Post. In 2007, Ms. Farrow was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor and in 2008 she was named one of TIME Magazine’s Most Influential People in the World. This year, she is awarded the Marian Anderson Award, the purpose of which is to “honor artists whose leadership on behalf of a humanitarian cause or issue benefits society.”
Congressman Donald M. Payne is the U.S. Representative from New Jersey’s 10th District. Elected in 1988, he is the first African American Congressman from New Jersey. Congressman Payne is a senior member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights. Congressman Payne is also a member and former Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and currently serves as the Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.
Frank Wisner ’61 - Off the record discussion with Obama’s official envoy to Hosni Mubarak
“Mubarak’s Last Days – Egypt and the Revolution Sweeping the Middle East - An Insider’s Account”
Tuesday, April 12 – 4:30 PM in the Whig Hall Senate Chamber. This event is open to Princeton University faculty, staff, and students only.
Ambassador Wisner’s diplomatic career spans four decades and eight American presidents. He served as ambassador to Zambia, Egypt, the Philippines, and India during his extensive career in the State Department. As Foreign Affairs Advisor, Ambassador Wisner plays a pivotal role at the firm, leveraging his vast experience in the Middle East, India, Europe, and Asia to assist the firm’s domestic and international clients. In addition to his role as ambassador to four countries, he has served as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and as Under Secretary of State for International Security Affairs. Ambassador Wisner was senior Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs from 1982 to 1986, a time of intense diplomatic engagement in Southern Africa.
John Marburger – Bush’s Science Advisor and head of the OSTP
Thursday, April 14th – 7:30 PM in the Whig Hall Senate Chamber. This event is open to the public and will be followed by a reception with Professor Marburger.
John H. Marburger, III, a University Professor in the departments of Physics and Electrical Engineering at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, served as Science Advisor to the President and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) during the George W. Bush Administration (2001-2009). Prior to his federal service, he was Director of Brookhaven National Laboratory from 1998, and the third President of Stony Brook University (1980-1994). He came to Long Island in 1980 from the University of Southern California where he had been a Professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering, serving consecutively as Physics Department Chairman and Dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences in the 1970’s. Professor Marburger was born on Staten Island, N.Y., grew up in Maryland near Washington D.C. and attended Princeton University (A.B. Physics 1962) and Stanford University (Ph.D. Applied Physics 1967). He is married to the former Carol Godfrey and lives in Port Jefferson, New York.
Jimmy McMillan - founder of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party
Thursday, April 28th – 7:30 PM in the Whig Hall Senate Chamber
James “Jimmy” McMillan, is a martial arts instructor, former postal worker, Vietnam War veteran, perennial candidate, and political activist from Brooklyn, New York. He is best known as the founder of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party, a New York-based political party. McMillan has run for office at least six times since 1993 and is most recently ran in the New York gubernatorial election, 2010 on the “Rent Is 2 Damn High” line, where he vaulted into national prominence during the debate.
