2/17/03

AU PRESIDENTIAL SYMPOSIUM KICKS OFF WITH PANEL ON IRAQ

AUBURN -- A year-long symposium at Auburn University entitled "War, Peace and Justice in the Middle East and Asia," begins Wednesday (Feb. 19), with a panel discussion on Iraq.

The symposium is sponsored by AU President William F. Walker's office. "The issues that will be discussed through this symposium are some of the most difficult issues that governments around the world have wrestled with in some time," said Walker. "They are also issues that are very close to home with many members of the AU family and that should be of concern to us all.

"The discussions this symposium will allow can only prove healthy and facilitate a better understanding of those views and viewpoints different from our own."

The symposium will begin with Wednesday's panel on "War With Iraq: Contending Views" at 4 p.m. in Broun Hall, Room 239. The panel will concentrate on assessments of current U.S. policy toward Iraq and the motivations for and consequences of U.S. military action.

Panelists will include Michael Herb, assistant professor of political science at Georgia State University; retired Air Force Lt. Col. Patrick Pendergast and associate professor emeritus of AU's Department of Political Science; and Diane Jordan Allende of Auburn's Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

Jill Crystal, an AU associate professor of political science, will moderate the discussion.

Throughout the remainder of the coming year, panels and invited speakers will provide an historical background of the peoples, cultures, religions and political geography of the Middle East and Asia; present a variety of viewpoints on current issues relevant to U.S. engagements with the Middle East and Asia; discuss the cultural ideas and interests that shape U.S. foreign policy in these regions; explore the cultural, political, and economic conditions of Middle Eastern and Asian peoples; and facilitate Americans' understanding of the place and role of the United States in current global affairs.

In addition to the president's office, the symposium is being co-sponsored by the AU Center for Diversity and Race Relations and the AU Women's Studies Program.

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CONTACT: Crystal, 334/ 844-6212; Kelly Alley 334/844-2827; or Richard Penaskovic, 334/844-4616.