DATE: Tuesday, Feb 6th, 07:00 to 8:30 p.m.
PLACE: Manheimer Room of the Reuter Center, UNCA (click for map)
TOPIC: "Can the Paris Agreement work?" Well it could! The Paris Agreement consists of national efforts by all nations to prevent global warming by switching from fossil fuels to renewables. This talk will show the sufficiency and affordability of renewable energy to meet the energy needs of the world. We will also look at the UN, the history of the Paris Agreement, and the continuing efforts to make the Paris Agreement work. We will not be able to study the national interests, corporate interests, educational dysfunction, resistance to change, and apathy which may prevent reaching the admirable goals of the Paris Agreement.
SPEAKER: Dot Sulock taught courses on math, the humanities, and the nuclear dilemma at UNC Asheville for 40 years. For many years, she has taught OLLI courses on contemporary topics, including renewable energy, the United Nations, nuclear weapons, ballistic missile defense, weapons trade, and Fukushima and Chernobyl.
ZOOM LINK: Click here. Or meeting ID: 984 5588 0390, Passcode: 823253
DATE: Tuesday, Mar 5th, 07:00 to 8:30 p.m.
PLACE: Manheimer Room of the Reuter Center, UNCA (click for map)
TOPIC: "The US Intelligence Community: A Rich Past, A Busy Present, An Uncertain Future". While intelligence activities were well developed as General George Washington led the American rebellion against British colonial rule, the United States did not have a permanent, formally established intelligence service until the late 19th century. Since then -- driven in large part by the nation's needs during the Second World War -- US intelligence activities have grown dramatically in breadth and scope. Sophisticated technical collection systems have joined classical espionage to form a powerful network of sources focused on keeping the US policy community as well informed as possible at a time when the range of threats and risks remains challenging. As long as the United States seeks to lead the free world, this trend is likely to continue.
SPEAKER: Thomas W. Shreeve After graduating cum laude from Middlebury College in 1969, Thomas W. Shreeve served as a U.S. Marine Corps platoon commander in Vietnam, Okinawa, and Japan for three years. He then began his career in intelligence analysis as a consultant to the New York City Police Department, followed by six years with the US Drug Enforcement Administration. After graduating from Harvard Business School's MBA program, he joined the CIA in 1987 and established the CIA's Case Method Program for education and training. He expanded the innovative program to other intelligence agencies, and, by 1998, the program had achieved national recognition as the leading application of the case method in the US Government. After retiring from the CIA, Mr. Shreeve established a consulting practice with a client base of intelligence, military, and law enforcement organizations. He continued his Marine Corps Reserve career and was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1992, following his recall to active duty during the Persian Gulf War. At the time of his retirement from the Marine Corps in 1999, he was director of Marine Corps Reserve intelligence training and a member of the adjunct faculty at the National Intelligence University and the Marine Corps Command and Staff College. In 2002, Mr. Shreeve became director of the US Intelligence Community Case Method Program. In that position, he was responsible for integrating the case method into courses for education and training throughout the Intelligence Community. From 2005 to 2007, Mr. Shreeve served as Chairman of the International Association for Intelligence Education. He retired fully in 2014.
ZOOM LINK: Click here. Or Meeting ID: 984 5588 0390 Passcode: 823253
DATE: Tuesday, Apr 2nd, 07:00 to 8:30 p.m.
PLACE: Manheimer Room of the Reuter Center, UNCA (click for map)
TOPIC: "Future of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)" Since the end of the Cold War, NATO has grown in size and complexity while the United States has continued to play an essential leadership role. NATO is much more than Article 5 of the Atlantic Charter, "an attack on one is an attack on all". Moreover, with the advent of the war in Ukraine, the whole idea of future NATO expansion has taken on a new dimension. Decisions made by member states are national decisions, and those decisions are heavily influenced by the actions contemplated by the U.S.
SPEAKER: Dr. John Plant served in the United States Army from 1972 to 2001, retiring at the rank of Colonel. His last seven years in the Army were in US European Command, where he served in a variety of roles, including teaching military-to-military classes in new NATO and NATO aspirant countries, including Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, and Albania. From 2001 to 2007, he served as an advisor to the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic for a US Army-sponsored defense modernization contract. He received his Ph.D. degree in 2018 from George Mason University's Shar School of Policy and Government.
ZOOM LINK: Click here. Or Meeting ID: 984 5588 0390, Passcode: 823253
DATE: Tuesday, Apr 16th, 07:00 to 8:30 p.m.
PLACE: Manheimer Room of the Reuter Center, UNCA (click for map)
TOPIC: "The Century of Humiliation and China's Foreign Policy" In the 21st century, China has made aggressive efforts to reassert its authority in East and Southeast Asia as well as to alter the norms of the American-led world order. What can an examination of China's history tell us about these efforts as well as why China is so obsessed with maintaining domestic unity?
SPEAKER: Dr. Jim Lenburg finished his doctorate at Penn State with a major in US foreign relations and a minor in Chinese studies. He began teaching at Mars Hill University in 1973 and retired in 2006. He taught history and humanities classes and wrote grants to establish two general studies programs that included some study of Asian cultures. He first visited China in 1978 and visited Tiananmen Square in 1989 at night several days before the Red Army cleared the square. In 2004, he became a visiting professor at Jilin University in Changchun, China, teaching English and American Studies. His most memorable experience was trying to explain the American presidential nominating system and the electoral college. After he retired in 2006, he served as president of the World Affairs Council of Western North Carolina for three years. In 2009, he began teaching courses at OLLI and later served on the curriculum committee and as Chair of the OLLI Steering Council. He lives in Weaverville with his wife, Patricia Freeman, who will soon retire as the Director of the City/County ID Bureau.
ZOOM LINK: Click here.
DATE: Tuesday, May 7th, 07:00 to 8:30 p.m.
PLACE: Manheimer Room of the Reuter Center, UNCA (click for map)
TOPIC: "Security in a Challenging World: Terrorism, Kidnapping, and Emergency Evacuations" Managing operations in some of the world's most challenging locations requires an ability to respond quickly and effectively to terrorist incidents, kidnappings, airplane hijackings, and emergency evacuations from countries at war. Real-world case studies reveal the extremely challenging and complex nature of these events and hold lessons that may be surprisingly applicable to our daily lives.
SPEAKER: Jonathan C. Tetzlaff has been involved with international risk management since 1980. Throughout his career, he has managed and consulted on complex situations and problems for government agencies, corporate entities, and educational institutions. Jonathan provides globally-oriented presentations and training to a wide range of organizations, including the U.S. State Department, the University of North Carolina Asheville, the U.S. Army's Worldwide Long-Range Planners' Conference, the Conference Board, CISO Executive Summit, Security 500, National Business Aviation Association, the University of Chicago, the International Security Management Association, and the National Defense University
ZOOM LINK: Click here
DATE: Tuesday, Sep 3rd, 07:00 to 8:30 p.m.
PLACE: Manheimer Room of the Reuter Center, UNCA (click for map)
TOPIC: "The Russia-Ukraine War: Is it doomed to stagnation? Are there paths forward to a favorable resolution?" Behind the apparent stagnation of the land war, there has been substantial maneuvering over the past year. Ukraine has conducted an intensive strike campaign against Crimea, forcing the Black Sea fleet to move and degrading logistics and air defense. Both sides have intensified long-range air strikes with goals of degrading infrastructure and resources. Far from the front lines, Ukraine's advocacy for crucial support from the U.S. and its allies continues under the influence of domestic politics, competing foreign policy priorities, limits on industrial capacity, and Russia's efforts to influence.
What will the next year of the Russia-Ukraine War likely look like? Is the battlefield doomed to stagnation, or will one side gain in domains outside the land front? Is Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region a sign of a changed paradigm for the land campaign? Will the recent arrival of F-16s to Ukraine's Air Force shift the balance in the air? What are the prospects for continued Western support for Ukraine - especially in light of the upcoming U.S. presidential election? Are there reasonable paths to ending the conflict in ways that favors U.S. interests, as well as those of Ukraine and our NATO Allies?
SPEAKER: James Greene is a former NATO diplomat and U.S. naval officer with expertise on national security cooperation and transformation in democratizing societies. He is a visiting senior fellow at the Ukrainian Center for Economic and Political Studies (Razumkov Center) in Kyiv. His association with Ukraine, Russia, and NATO began in 1991, when, as a junior naval officer, he conducted groundbreaking research on civil-military relations inside the collapsing Soviet Union. He has served at NATO Headquarters as a key architect of cooperation under the NATO-Ukraine Distinctive Partnership and for over five years as the civilian chief of mission for NATO's Liaison Office in Ukraine. Since leaving NATO in 2009, he has worked closely with think tanks, civil society, government officials, and industry to help Ukraine strengthen its democratic institutions and national security.
ZOOM LINK: Click here
DATE: Tuesday, Oct 22nd, 07:00 to 8:30 p.m.
CANCELLED
DATE: Tuesday, Dec 3rd, 07:00 to 8:30 p.m.
CANCELLED
World Affairs Program 2024