issues. The CSIS, located just two blocks from the White House, is staffed by expert scholars who research these issues. Because CSIS experts hold extensive credentials in the public and private sectors, they offer a unique perspective on global issues based on their firsthand experiences in the policy world. A Board of Trustees and Counselors whose members have been influential national policy makers advises the Center. Board members include former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn, cochairman and chief executive officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative; Anne Armstrong, former U.S. ambassador to Great Britain; Zbigniew Brzezinski, counselor and trustee of CSIS and former U.S. National Security Advisor to President Carter; Henry Kissinger, chairman and chief executive officer of Kissinger Associates, Inc., and National Security Advisor and later Secretary of State to President Nixon; and Brent Scowcroft, president of the Forum for International Policy and U.S. National Security Advisor under Presidents Ford and George H.W. Bush.
CSIS COMES TO SOUTHEAST But Alana and the student’s experiences did not stop with the week-long trip. Once they returned to campus, they presented their ideas, research and recommendations at a conference on campus entitled “The Next America.”
The “Next America” seminar brought to campus, from the CSIS staff, two of the nation’s leading futurists –Peterson and Frank Verrastro – and also gave students an opportunity to share with the faculty, staff, other students, and the broader community some of what they learned at this year’s seminar. While Peterson had been to Southeast several times, it was a first-time visit for Verrastro, who is considered to be one of the nation’s leading experts on energy and was a co-author of two major national reports: the 2007 National Petroleum Council report “Hard Truths: Facing the Hard Truths About Energy;” and the 2006, Council on Foreign Relations report “National Security Consequences of U. S. Oil Dependency.” Verrastro, director and senior fellow, CSIS Energy and National Security Program, outlined how the United States can address its current and future energy challenges with his keynote luncheon presentation, “Managing the Transformation to a Sustainable Energy Future”. Verrastro’s energy-related experience includes more than 25 years in energy policy and project management positions in both the U.S. government and the private sector. He formerly held a White House Staff position with Energy Policy and Planning and was a senior vice president for Pennzoil. “This was a remarkable opportunity for
Former Student Body President Adam Hanna at CSIS in Washington D.C.
Southeast students to learn from former ambassadors, researchers and consultants who advise national leaders in the top levels of government as they develop policies and strategies that affect the United States and the global community,” said Dr. Kenneth W. Dobbins, president of the University. “The several days spent studying global issues with renowned scholars at the CSIS in Washington, D.C., was an opportunity of a lifetime for Southeast students. We are very proud that Southeast joins Pennsylvania State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Chapman University as one of only four institutions that now are involved with the CSIS. The Southeast students who participated in the CSIS seminar are in an elite group of young people who have learned from some of the nation’s top policy advisors about global matters that will face the leaders of our country over the next several decades.” Follow Alana Newell’s blog outlining her week-long activities in Washington, D.C. at http://www.semo.edu/csis/blogs/ newell.htm. Left: Twenty-nine of Southeast’s brightest students spent their spring break learning about global issues in Washington D.C.
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