Panelists to Question Gore on Important Issues
Three Phi Theta Kappa members will join Society Executive Director Rod
Risley in a "conversation" with former Vice President Al Gore following
his keynote address at the 2007 International Convention in Nashville,
Tennessee. Risley will serve as moderator.
On Friday, April
13, Gore will deliver the Convention Keynote Address at the Third General
Session. He will cover subjects pertaining to the current Honors
Study Topic, Gold, Gods, and Glory: The Global Dynamics of
Power.
"The depth and breadth of his experience as a high-ranking
public official eminently qualifies Gore to address many dimensions of
our current Honors Study Topic," said Risley.
The panel discussion
will take place following Gore's speech. The panelists will pose questions
related to domestic and international issues. Serving on the panel will
be Dr. David Shinn, Mirta Ojito and Abeer Khalfan.
The former
U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia and Burkina Faso, Dr. Shinn is now an Adjunct
Professor at The George Washington University's Elliott School of International
Affairs in Washington, D.C. He was named Phi Theta Kappa's Distinguished
Alumnus in 1995.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ojito came
to the United States from Cuba on the Mariel Boatlift. Author of Finding
Manana: A Memoir of a Cuban Exodus, Ojito teaches at the Graduate School
of Journalism at Columbia University and continues to write for The
New York Times. She was Phi Theta Kappa's 2006 Distinguished Alumna.
Khalfan is charter president of Phi Theta Kappa's first chapter
in the Middle East, in the United Arab Emirate of Fujairah. A second-year
student at Fujairah Women's College, she is currently studying Business
Administration. In 2006 Abeer participated in a Middle East Partnership
Initiative leadership development program, sponsored by the U.S. State
Department and held at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
"Our
distinguished panel - an alumnus and former ambassador to Ethiopia; an
alumna, Cuban immigrant and Pulitzer Prize-winner; and a charter chapter
president from the United Arab Emirates, will challenge Gore on domestic
and international issues, including such topics as global warming and
conflicts in the Middle East," said Risley.
"Our goal as an organization
is to provide Convention speakers who challenge the thinking of our members,"
he continued.
The night will conclude with an 8:30 pm showing
of Gore's environmental documentary, An Inconvenient Truth.
The film is the third highest-grossing documentary in the United States
and it has been nominated for two Academy Awards.
The viewing
is optional. Following the film, Phi Theta Kappa Director of Leadership
Development Programs Monika Byrd will facilitate a discussion with attendees.
Learn more about the 2007
International Convention online.
