For many years, SNC has partnered in a major national lecture series on current issues in global affairs. This year, for the first time, admission will be free.

Free Window on World Affairs

For the first time ever, the annual Great Decisions Lecture Series at St. Norbert College will be free to all. Coordinated by the college’s Center for Global Engagement (CGE), this eight-part lecture series begins in early February and will give the college and members of the community a chance to learn and discuss global affairs that currently affect the United States and other nations around the world.

“We decided to make the series free to the community this year, in order to make it as easy as possible to participate,” says Dan Stoll, associate dean of global affairs at St. Norbert. “This year’s series of speakers represent some of the most respected faculty at St. Norbert College, in addition to leading experts from around the country. [It’s] a unique opportunity to learn from and engage with thought-leaders in important areas of international affairs.”

Since 2001, the Great Decisions series has been offered on campus through a national program run by the Foreign Policy Association (FPA), and St. Norbert is one of only a handful of Wisconsin centers for this dedicated lecture series. This year, the series will focus on critical global and national issues that include trade, cyber geopolitics and the worldwide refugee crisis, among others. Each lecture begins at 6:30 p.m. and typically lasts an hour, with 40 minutes for the speaker and 20 minutes for a Q&A session.

2019 Great Decisions Lecture Series

• Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019, The Middle East: Regional Disorder
  Robert Kramer, professor of history, St. Norbert College
• Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2019, The United States and Mexico: Partnership Tested
  Ambassador Thomas A. Shannon Jr., senior international policy advisor, Arnold & Porter
• Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019, Decoding U.S./China Trade
  Zheya Gai, professor of political science and international relations, Washington & Jefferson College
• Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, Cyber Conflicts and Geopolitics
  Frederic Lemieux, professor and program director for the Master in Applied Intelligence, Georgetown University
• Wednesday, March 6, 2019, Refugees and Global Migration
  Angel Saavedra Cisneros, assistant professor of political science, St. Norbert College
• Wednesday, March 27, 2019, Nuclear Negotiations: Back to the Future?
  Andrew Kydd, professor of international relations and political methodology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  (Location: University Union (Phoenix Room B) at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay)
• Wednesday, April 3, 2019, The Rise of Populism in Europe
  David Coury, professor of humanistic studies (German) and global studies, and co-director of the Center for Middle East Studies & Partnerships, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
  (Location: University Union (Alumni Room) at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay)
• Wednesday, April 10, 2019, State of the State Department and Diplomacy
  Daniel C. Stoll, associate dean of global affairs, St. Norbert College

All lectures, unless otherwise stated, will take place in the Fort Howard Theater in the F. K. Bemis International Center at St. Norbert College. For more information, visit the Great Decisions Lecture Series website.

Great Decisions is one of the country’s most comprehensive discussion programs highlighting global issues. New topics are chosen by a panel of experts each year. The first discussion group occurred in Portland, Oregon, in 1954; from that point, the initiative steadily grew into the nationally known program with tens of thousands now participating every year across the United States.

Feb. 5, 2019