Secretaries of State roundtable "sold out;" waitlist started

Abstract

Monday, March 3, 2008

Writer: Heidi Murphy, 706/542-5172, hmurphy@uga.edu Contact: C. Donald Johnson, 706/542-5135, johnsocd@uga.edu

Secretaries of State roundtable "sold out;" waitlist started

Athens, Ga. - The Report of the Secretaries of State: Bipartisan Advice to the Next Administration featuring Henry Kissinger, James Baker III, Warren Christopher and Madeleine Albright on March 27 is "sold out." A waiting list procedure has been created to try to ensure that all seats will be filled for the roundtable, where four former U.S. secretaries of state will be in Athens to discuss current U.S. foreign policy issues with the goal of providing direction and counsel to the next presidential administration.

"We are delighted with the ticket response. It is quite remarkable that more than 2,100 tickets have been distributed so quickly. However, we want to strongly encourage those who find that they have other commitments on the day of the event to return their tickets to the Classic Center as soon as they are able so that others may have the opportunity to partake in this exciting and popular event," Ambassador C. Donald Johnson, the director of the University of Georgia School of Law's Dean Rusk Center, which is co-sponsoring the event, said.

People who have not been able to secure tickets to the roundtable should contact the Classic Center at 800-864-4160 or ClassicCenter.com to be placed on a first come, first served waiting list. Tickets are required for entry and, as they become available, the Classic Center will contact those on the list to redistribute them. Ticket cost is $10 for members of the general public. UGA faculty, staff and students can obtain their tickets for free by showing a UGA ID.

Those who cannot use tickets they have obtained are urged to contact the Classic Center for ticket return procedures.

Sponsored by the School of Law's Dean Rusk Center and the Southern Center for International Studies, the two-hour roundtable discussion will begin at 10:30 a.m. and will cover foreign policy issues such as: stabilizing Iraq, the Middle East peace talks, Al Qaeda and militant Islam, immigration reform, environmental initiatives, U.S. energy security, America's image abroad, the balancing of economic interests and human rights, free trade agreements, and future dealings with Iran, Pakistan, Canada, Russia and China, among other topics. Newscaster Terence Smith of "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" will moderate.

Another opportunity to see the former secretaries of state is a black-tie optional reception and dinner to be held at the InterContinental Hotel in Atlanta on March 26. Tickets cost $150 for SCIS members and $175 for non-members. The reception will begin at 6:00 p.m. Tickets to the dinner also include VIP reserved seating at the conference. Reservations and advance payment are required. More information about the dinner is available at www.southerncenter.org .

The School of Law's Dean Rusk Center is partnering with the Southern Center for International Studies to bring these high profile foreign policy experts to Athens to help celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Dean Rusk Center, which bears the name of the late School of Law faculty member who served as secretary of state for both Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Rusk participated in several of these Report of the Secretaries of State sessions during his 25-year teaching career at the School of Law.

For more information regarding the conference in general, please visit http://www.uga.edu/ruskcenter/announcements.html .

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NOTE FOR EDITORS: If you are planning to cover this event, please contact the law school's Heidi Murphy at 706-542-5172 or hmurphy@uga.edu for registration and guidelines. High resolution photos of the secretaries can be found at:

http://www.law.uga.edu/intl/sos/albright.jpg http://www.law.uga.edu/intl/sos/baker.jpg http://www.law.uga.edu/intl/sos/christopher.jpg http://www.law.uga.edu/intl/sos/kissinger.jpg

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