DENTON, Texas (UNT) – Leveraging its scholarly expertise and programmatic excellence in military history, political science, economics, peace policy studies and cyber security, the University of North Texas announced today that it has established the UNT Kuehne Speaker Series on National Security.
Retired Admiral James Stavridis, chairman of the U.S. Naval Institute Board of Directors and the first Navy officer to have served as both commander of the U.S. European Command and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, is the inaugural speaker. Stavridis’ lecture, “Sailing the Cyber Sea: The New Realities of 21st Century Security,” is scheduled for noon Dec. 3 at the Tower Club in Dallas.
UNT alumnus Ernie W. Kuehne Jr. (’66) has pledged $300,000 to support the series, which will present three speakers each year. Kuehne, who will be honored in April 2014 with the UNT Distinguished Alumni Award, also recently led efforts to raise more than $3 million in 30 days for a basketball training facility, a state-of-the-art scoreboard in the UNT Coliseum and scholarships for Mean Green Athletics.
He says his most recent gift is intended to highlight UNT’s established programs in political science, history, military history, economics, peace studies, sustainability, logistics, cyber security, computer science, engineering and experimental sciences.
“No other university in this region is prepared to leverage scientists, engineers, philosophers and policy makers from such a wide array of disciplines to advance our understanding of national and economic security,” Kuehne said. “I wanted to help UNT play a greater role in those global conversations.”
Vice President of Advancement Michael Monticino said the speaker series offers UNT an opportunity to highlight the nationally and internationally recognized programs and faculty engaged in multidisciplinary research related to national security issues.
“Ernie Kuehne’s generous gift demonstrates once again that he is among UNT’s most visionary and ardent supporters,” Monticino said.
The first UNT Kuehne Speaker Series will be presented in collaboration with the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to promoting international awareness and cross-cultural understanding in North Texas.
The series lineup for the 2013-2014 season of the UNT Kuehne Speaker Series includes:
Dec. 3: The inaugural UNT Kuehne Speaker Series will feature Admiral James Stavridis, chairman of the U.S. Naval Institute and the first Navy officer to have served as both commander of the U.S. European Command and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
Feb. 4: Gen. Michael Hayden, retired United States Air Force four-star general and former director of the National Security Agency and director of the Central Intelligence Agency, is scheduled to speak Feb. 4.
May 6: Author and geopolitical analyst Robert D. Kaplan, who was named one of the world’s “Top 100 Global Thinkers” by Foreign Policy magazine for his work including The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate, is scheduled to speak May 6.
Tickets for each speaker in the series are available for $45 for UNT alumni and World Affair Council members and $60 for non-members and may be purchased online at http://kuehneseries.unt.edu.
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