9/11 Commissioner Bob Kerrey to Speak at UMaine Nov. 9
Contact: Joe Carr at (207) 581-3571
Note: a photo of Bob Kerrey is available upon request.
ORONO, Me. — Bob Kerrey, president of New School University and former Nebraska governor and U.S. senator, will visit the University of Maine on Tuesday, Nov. 9 to deliver UMaine’s second Governor’s Distinguished Lecture.
A collaborative effort of UMaine and the Maine governor’s office, the Governor’s Distinguished Lecture Series brings to UMaine a governor or former governor who has expertise in international politics. Last year’s speaker was New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.
UMaine President Robert Kennedy and Maine Gov. John Baldacci will introduce Kerrey at the Nov. 9 event, which is scheduled for 11 a.m. in the Maine Center for the Arts. Baldacci and Kerrey worked closely together when they were members of Congress.
Kerrey was Nebraska’s governor for four years before his election to the U.S. Senate in 1988. He was re-elected to the Senate in 1994 but chose not to run again in 2000, instead assuming the presidency of New School University in New York City.
“We are looking forward to Sen. Kerrey’s visit,” says UMaine President Robert Kennedy. “He has an enviable record as one of the most distinguished public servants of the past two decades. He is an educator in the true sense of the word, and we anticipate a talk that will add measurably to our collective understanding of important national and world issues.”
Kerrey, who served as vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, was the unanimous choice of the lecture series committee. Beyond his role as a university president, he has been involved in education on many levels, including a leadership role in a bipartisan Congressional Web-based Education Commission.
Kerrey served as a member of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, better known as the 9/11 Commission. The commission interviewed over 1,200 people in ten countries and reviewed more than two and one-half million pages of documentation. The commission’s report is number two on the New York Times best seller list, and has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. It provides a serious and thoughtful analysis of all the issues related to the terrorist threat, and provides a framework for public policy discussions about terrorism.
That experience will provide the context for Kerrey’s UMaine talk which will be titled “Inside the 9/11 Commission: How Safe Were We? How Safe Are We? How Safe Can We Be?”
“The chapter on the ‘Foundation of the New Terrorism’ is well balanced and objective, and one of the best summaries of the rise of Bin Laden and Al Qaida I have read so far,” says Prof. Bahman Baktiari director of UMaine’s International Affairs Program. “The recommendations for improved Congressional oversight are solid and they will lead to important changes in oversight practices.”
The event is free and open to the public, with no advance ticketing required. Seating will be limited, so those planning to attend are asked to plan to arrive early. Doors will open at 10 a.m.
Note: Kerrey and Baldacci will be available to reporters at a news conference immediately following the lecture. It will be held in the Bodwell Area of the Maine Center for the Arts.