The Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies will host the “America's Role in the World” Conference on April 6 and 7.
The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. April 6 and from 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. April 7, in the Shreve Auditorium.
This year, ARW will feature more than ten different discussions and lectures from experts involved in American government and commerce.
The event will also be livestreamed for those who cannot attend in person.
The topics discussed at the conference will include the war in Ukraine, the global refugee crisis, international development, media freedom in Latin America and the effect global events have on Indiana, according to an HLS press release.
“The Hamilton Lugar School’s annual America’s Role in the World conference is unique in that it brings together a range of high-profile and cutting-edge speakers to discuss the most pressing challenges of our time, all in a student-centered environment,” Shruti Rana, Senior Assistant Dean for Curricular and Undergraduate Affairs at HLS said.
Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Bonnie Jenkins will deliver the Richard G. Lugar Lecture at 2:15 p.m. April 6 alongside Politico magazine editor Elise Labott.
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Jenkins entered her position in the Biden administration in July 2021. The Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security is a role in the State Department.
Prior to the Biden administration, she served as Special Envoy and Coordinator for Threat Reduction Programs in the Obama Administration’s State Department.
“Russia has raised its nuclear forces to high alert,” Interim Dean of the Hamilton Lugar School Nick Cullather said. “Having someone who can speak credibly about that situation right now and the perils it presents to the world is a very important thing.”
The event will also feature a conversation with former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor, former U.S. Ambassador to Poland Lee Feinstein and former U.S. Senator Dan Coats, R-Ind..
Taylor served as ambassador to Ukraine during the Trump administration. He was one of the individuals who testified during former President Trump’s first impeachment trial.
Coats also served in the Trump administration as Director of National Intelligence. He now serves as a HLS distinguished scholar at IU.
Coats resigned from the Trump Administration in 2019, after reports of Trump wanting to remove him.
Feinstein is a founding dean of HLS. He served as U.S. Ambassador to Poland during the Obama administration.
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Some parts of the conference are specifically geared towards students. The Emerging Leaders Council Breakfast will allow students to hear from HLS alumni about their work since graduation. It will be from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. in the Global and International Studies Building in room GA 1060.
“This conference is important because it gives IU students an opportunity to directly interact with and hear from foreign policy professionals in a variety of different fields,” International studies major Kyle Tuckersaid.
A post-conference session is available for students to come together and reflect on what they learned from the various speakers at the conference. This event will be from 5 to 6 p.m. April 7, also in room GA 1060.
“This year I am most interested in the panels related to the war in Ukraine and a new nuclear age,” Tucker said.
This year's ARW conference will also feature a discussion of Indiana's role in the world. Indiana Secretary of Commerce Bradley Chambers and Indianapolis City-Council President Vop Osili will take part in the discussion.
“They will speak about just how connected Indiana is to the global economy,” Cullather said.
