News Release

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Local angle: Grand Rapids, Mich.

Haass, former adviser to Colin Powell,
to discuss foreign affairs since Sept. 11

CHAPEL HILL - The United States' role in foreign affairs since Sept. 11, 2001, will be the topic of the talk by a former Department of State official on Oct. 23 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The free public address by Richard Haass, a top adviser to former Secretary of State Colin Powell, will be at 7 p.m. in Carroll Hall auditorium, with a reception afterward. Limited parking will be available in the Swain lot on Cameron Avenue.

In Haass' latest book, "The Opportunity: America's Moment to Alter History's Course," he cites lessons to be learned from the way the war in Iraq has been conducted. He argues that unless this country integrates itself politically with the rest of the world, "the principal challenges of this era … will come to overwhelm the United States."

Haass is president of the Council on Foreign Relations (http://www.cfr.org/), a nonpartisan national membership organization where scholars work to further understanding of the world and foreign policy choices that nations face.

He is this year's Frey Foundation Distinguished Visiting Professor in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences, where he will meet with an honors class.

At the State Department, Haass was director of policy planning and advised Powell on a broad range of issues. He also coordinated policy on Afghanistan and worked to support peace in Northern Ireland. He recently received the department's Distinguished Honor Award.

Previously, Haass was a special assistant to President George H.W. Bush and a staff member for the National Security Council. In 1991, he received a Presidential Citizens Medal for contributions to the development and articulation of U.S. policy during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He also served in Ronald Reagan's State Department and Jimmy Carter's Pentagon.

The Frey Foundation Professorship was established in 1989 to bring to campus distinguished leaders from fields including government, public policy and the arts. Edward J. and Frances Frey of Grand Rapids, Mich., established the foundation in 1974. Their son, David Gardner Frey of Grand Rapids, chairs the foundation. He earned bachelor's and law degrees at Carolina in 1964 and 1967.

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Photo URL: http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/visiting/haass_richard.jpg

College of Arts and Sciences contact: Dee Reid, (919) 843-6339, deereid@unc.edu
News Services contact: L.J. Toler, (919) 962-8589