Former Secretary of State Albright to Speak at Distinguished Lecture Series

Former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright will be the guest speaker for The University of Southern Mississippi's second biennial Lt. Col. John H. Dale Sr. Distinguished Lecture Series in International Security and Global Policy.

In 2009, Albright was asked by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen to chair a group of experts focused on developing NATO's New Strategic Concept. Her lecture, titled “The Future of NATO” will begin at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 19, in Hattiesburg's Historic Saenger Theatre.

This lecture series is presented by the College of Arts and Letters and made possible through a generous donation by Southern Miss alumna, Dr. Beverly Dale, in honor of her late father, Lt. Col. John H. Dale Sr.

"Secretary Albright served as Chair of the Group of Experts on the NATO Strategic Concept Expert Group, a group created by NATO Secretary General Rasmussen to provide him with an analysis of NATO's role in the 21^st Century and recommendations for the next Strategic Concept,” Dale said.

“I feel it honors my father particularly well to have this distinguished American speak to us at Southern Miss and in Hattiesburg about the future of the organization that was so much a part of the last twenty years of his active military duty."

Lt. Col. Dale was a veteran of World War II and the Korean Conflict. He also was a professor of military science and head of the Department of Military Science at Southern Miss from 1957-61 and 1964-67. During his first assignment at Southern Miss, he received a Master of Science degree and, subsequent to his retirement from the U.S. Army in 1967, served on the school's science education faculty.

"The support of generous alums such as Dr. Dale is absolutely critical to our ability to continue to provide thought-provoking, engaging and relevant community outreach programs such as this lecture series,” said Dr. Denise von Herrmann, dean of the College of Arts and Letters. 

In 1997Albright was named the first female Secretary of State and the highest-ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government. As Secretary of State, she reinforced America's alliances, advocated democracy and human rights, promoted American trade and business, as well as labor and environmental standards abroad. 

From 1993-97, Albright served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations and as a member of the President's Cabinet. She is a professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. She chairs both the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, the Pew Global Attitudes Project and serves as president of the Truman Scholarship Foundation. Albright serves on the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Board of Trustees for the Aspen Institute.

This event is free and open to the public. Guests are asked to wear business attire in honor of this occasion. For more information, contact 601.266.4315 or visit www.usm.edu/coal.