FAS 2013: From the Front Line to the Bottom Line

The annual student-run Foreign Affairs Symposium at The Johns Hopkins University is returning to the Homewood campus this month, with several prominent speakers scheduled to appear during the spring semester under the theme, “From the Front Line to the Bottom Line.” All of the events are free and open to the public and take place at 8 p.m. in Shriver Hall Auditorium on their appointed dates. Each lecture is followed by a reception with the speaker and a book signing, if applicable. Retired Gen. Stanley McChyrstal, who most recently served as commander of the International Security Assistance Force and commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan, will open the lecture series on Wednesday, Feb. 27. Andrew Ross Sorkin, author of the bestselling book Too Big To Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System — and Themselves, will be the next speaker on Wednesday, March 6. Other speakers visiting campus this spring are L. Paul Bremer III, former presidential envoy to Iraq (Wednesday, April 3); Rick Santorum, a former U.S. senator and presidential candidate (Tuesday, April 9); Frank Jannuzi, deputy executive director of Amnesty International USA (Tuesday, April 16); and Jerry Greenfield, founder of Ben & Jerry’s (Tuesday, April 23). This year’s symposium is headed by undergraduates in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, all of whom are majoring in international studies: sophomore Ben Kupferberg; and juniors Henry Chen, Natalie Boyse, and Sarah Horton. “As our modern society goes through a series of technological and economic innovations, the mission of the Foreign Affairs Symposium is to generate discussion between undergraduates and prominent leaders,” Kupferberg said. “With speakers such as General McChrystal, who just released his memoir, and Andrew Ross Sorkin, who has been a very influential figure in the financial industry, the symposium will address current issues, and hopefully will attract a wide variety of students.” The Foreign Affairs Symposium’s executive directors and staff begin their planning a year in advance, contacting possible speakers and fundraising throughout the Johns Hopkins and Baltimore communities. The series is sponsored by the Office of Student Development and Programming. “The lineup for this year’s symposium will address a wide variety of international and domestic issues, and because of this unique combination of speakers, the symposium should be one of the strongest in recent years,” Kupferberg said. “We could not have accomplished such a diverse lineup without the help of previous staffs and The Johns Hopkins University. I am extremely excited for what is in store, and hope that not only undergraduates come, but members of the greater Baltimore community as well.” All events take place on the Homewood campus, 3400 N. Charles St. in Baltimore. Visitor parking on campus is available in the South Garage, 3101 Wyman Park Drive, Baltimore, Md. 21211. For more information, visit http://web1.johnshopkins.edu/fas/ or contact jhufas@gmail.com.