Celebrating 200 Years — Charting a Course for a World in Disarray: Foreign Policy and Leadership Insights from the Elliott School's Deans

Location

This event is open to all GW community members for virtual participation via Zoom. Details for joining the event by computer or phone will be sent the day before the event. Please be mindful of the Time Zone of the presentation (ET).

Online registration is now closed on this site. To participate, please visit the Zoom registration page for this event to get your unique webinar link. If you have any questions, please email Elaine Garbe in Elliott School Alumni Programs at egarbe@gwu.edu.

Event Description

This year holds no shortage of challenges for the international community, but it also presents many opportunities to reshape our world for the better. As we celebrate GW's Bicentennial, we invite you to hear insights from the Elliott School's deans on foreign policy and leadership and how the Elliott School can play a role in shaping our future.

Panelists

• Alyssa Ayres joined the Elliott School as Dean on February 1, 2021. She is a foreign policy practitioner and award-winning author with senior experience in the government, nonprofit, and private sectors. From 2013 to 2021, she was senior fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations, where she remains an adjunct senior fellow. 
• Reuben E. Brigety II served as Elliott School Dean from 2015-2020. He is currently Vice-Chancellor and President at the University of the South, Sewanee. Previously, Ambassador Brigety was the U.S. Representative to the African Union and Permanent Representative of the U.S. to the UN Economic Commission for Africa, among other positions.
• Michael E. Brown served as Elliott School Dean from 2005-2015, and remains on the Elliott School faculty as Professor of International Affairs and Political Science. Prior to joining GW, he had senior appointments at Georgetown, Harvard and the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. His most recent book is The Gender and Security Agenda.
• Harry Harding served as Elliott School Dean from 1995-2005, and on the school's board for several years following his deanship. He is currently University Professor and Professor of Public Policy at UVA's Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, where he served as the founding dean from 2009-2014. He is also Adjunct Chair Professor in the College of Social Science at National Chengchi University in Taipei, where he holds a Yushan Scholarship, the highest honor awarded by Taiwan’s Ministry of Education.
• Maurice "Mickey" A. East served as Elliott School Dean from 1985-1995, and is Professor Emeritus of Political Science and International Affairs at GW. He served on the Elliott School's Board of Advisors from 1997-2016. Previously, he taught at the Graduate School of International Studies at Denver and at the University of Kentucky. During his career, he also served as President of the International Studies Association and was Senior Fellow at the Strategic Concepts Development Center at the Defense Department.
• Moderator: Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, ESIA BA '80, is Co-Chair and Founder of the Leadership Council for Women in National Security, as well as Vice Chair of the GW International Women of Elliott network. A 30-year diplomat, Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley was the longest serving U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Malta. In addition to the State Department, she has held senior positions at the Defense Department and the White House National Security Council.

The George Washington University’s bicentennial is an incredible, historic milestone. With 27,000+ students from more than 135 countries, a worldwide community of 300,000+ living alumni, and thousands of faculty and staff, the GW community is coming together to celebrate 200 years of phenomenal growth.

International affairs as a field of study has existed at GW since 1898 when courses were taught in the School of Comparative Jurisprudence and Diplomacy. The school we know today began in 1966 when it was established as the School of Public and International Affairs. In 1988, it was renamed the Elliott School of International Affairs, in honor of retiring GW President Lloyd Elliott and his wife Evelyn "Betty" Elliott. Since then, the Elliott School has grown into the largest school of international affairs in the United States with over 2,000 undergraduate and 800 graduate students and over 26,000 alumni worldwide.