U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has accepted an invitation
to deliver the keynote address on Friday, Sept. 30, opening a year of
celebrations marking the 75th anniversary of Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
Rice
will speak at 2:45 p.m. in Jadwin Gymnasium. Her address is part of a
Sept. 30-Oct. 1 kickoff that also will feature speakers from the Princeton Project on National Security,
a major bi-partisan initiative bringing academics and policymakers
together to re-examine the fundamental assumptions underlying U.S.
national security strategy.
"I cannot imagine a better person
to launch our 75th anniversary celebrations," said Woodrow Wilson
School Dean Anne-Marie Slaughter. "For 75 years the Woodrow Wilson
School has been preparing Princeton students dedicated to serving the
nation and the world through careers in public and international
affairs. Secretary Rice's career exemplifies those values; she has held
the highest level positions in and out of government and is currently
shaping policy on many of the most important issues of our time."
Also as part of the kickoff, Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, a Princeton
alumnus who has been in charge of the Multi-National Security
Transition Command in Iraq, and Michael Chertoff, secretary of the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security, will speak on Saturday, Oct. 1.
Other
events scheduled for the 2005-06 year include a 75th anniversary
speaker series at the Woodrow Wilson School, regional events across the
country, international events in London and Tokyo, and various
conferences on issues of public and international affairs. In February
the school will host a symposium at Princeton to examine the changes
and challenges in attracting the best and the brightest to
government.
"This anniversary celebration allows us to
recognize the Woodrow Wilson School's first 75 years of distinguished
achievement in public and international affairs, but it also allows us
to look ahead to the many future contributions the school will make to
addressing major national and global issues," Princeton President
Shirley M. Tilghman said. "Secretary Rice left the position of provost
at one of our peer institutions to serve our government at the highest
levels, and this visit will give our students and others an opportunity
to engage her in conversation about some of the major issues for which
she has responsibility."
Rice, a former provost at Stanford
University, will take questions following her address. Tickets for the
address are being made available to students, alumni, faculty and staff
via a lottery system. A limited number of tickets will be made
available to members of the Princeton community.
The lottery
for students, faculty and staff with Princeton University IDs will open
at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21, and will close at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept.
24. Members of the public who would like to attend cannot participate
in the lottery, but must come in person to Jadwin Gymnasium between
noon and 6 p.m. Sept. 26 or Sept. 27 to pick up a ticket on a
first-come, first-served basis. One ticket will be allotted per person,
and all individuals must bring a government-issued photo ID. The same
ID should be brought the day of the event for identification by all
those attending.
Further details about the campus lottery are available on Woodrow Wilson School's 75th anniversary Web site, where regular updates will continue to be posted.
The event will be Webcast live; viewing information is available online. It also will be simulcast in McCosh 50 and Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall.
Journalists who wish to receive more information about the event should submit contact information to the Office of Communications at (609) 258-3601 by noon Tuesday, Sept. 27.
