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Gen. Hugh Shelton speaks at UNC Feb. 17

By DEE REID
College of Arts and Sciences

CHAPEL HILL -- Retired Gen. Henry Hugh Shelton, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will participate in a public forum hosted by William C. Friday at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Feb. 17.

"A Carolina Community Conversation with Hugh Shelton," which is free and open to the public, is set for 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence in Graham Memorial Building, as part of the "Tuesdays with Friday" series hosted by the UNC system’s president emeritus. The forum will be in the Kresge Foundation Commons Room (039).

Following an introductory conversation, Friday and Shelton will open the floor to questions and comments from the audience.

Shelton, a native of Tarboro, and an alumnus of N.C. State University, capped an extensive career as a military leader and decorated combat veteran by serving as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1997 until his retirement in 2001.

He served two tours in Vietnam and was the first member of the elite U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Berets) to rise to the nation’s top military post. He was also commander of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg and led the joint task force operations in Haiti in 1994.

Shelton also played a leadership role in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm as assistant division commander for operations of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

He has won numerous military honors and is a recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award conferred by the U.S. Congress. Shelton is the current president of international operations for M.I.C. Industries Inc., in Reston, Va., and executive director of the Henry Hugh Shelton Initiative for Leadership Development at N.C. State.

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Photo URL: http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/event/lecture/shelton.jpg

Contacts: College of Arts and Sciences: Dee Reid, (919) 843-6339 or deereid@unc.edu

Friday's office: Amy Dye (919) 962-1618 or atdye@email.unc.edu