WILLIAM DAVIS, DIRECTOR OF U.N. CENTER, TO GIVE KEYNOTE ADDRESS FOR FRANK CHURCH CONFERENCE OCT. 20
William Davis, director of the United Nations Center in Washington, D.C., will give the keynote address for the 20th annual Frank Church Conference, titled “The Global Environment: From Kyoto to Copenhagen,” on Oct. 20. Davis will speak on “The Political Climate for Climate Change Negotiations” at 7:30 p.m. in the Student Union Building Jordan Ballroom. His address is free and open to the public.
Davis is the United Nation’s senior representative in Washington, serving as a spokesman for the organization and working with officials in the executive branch, Congress, the media, civil society and the business community to further the relationship between the U.N. and the United States.
Before joining the United Nations, Davis was the director for global and functional affairs in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Legislative Affairs. He oversaw the department’s interaction with the U.S. Congress on global priorities such as international organizations, human rights, refugees, counter-narcotics and international environmental affairs. He led a staff of 10 foreign policy professionals who served as liaisons with Congress. Davis also was the department’s senior legislative adviser on relations with Congress regarding the Secretary of State’s Office of Reconstruction and Stabilization.
Daytime conference sessions are from 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Speakers include:
For more information or a complete conference schedule, visit www.boisestate.edu/fci/ or contact Garry Wenske, executive director, The Frank Church Institute at (208) 426-2941, or garrywenske@boisestate.edu.
2007 Conference: Tipping Points: Presidents, the Constitution and National Security
2007 Conference: Global Warming: Beyond the Inconvenient Truth
2005 Conference: Global Flash Points: Clash of Cultures
2004 Conference: The American Presidency: Principled Leadership in a Time of Turbulence
2003 Conference: Freedom and Secrecy: Trading Liberty for Security?
The Frank Church Institute, established in 1982 at the Frank Church Chair of Public Affairs at Boise State University, combines both an endowed professorship and an annual conference on the issues of the day. It brings together academic interests and practical politics by involving students, faculty, and the community with renowned leaders.
As stated at its founding, “Through the Chair, Boise State University will emphasize to its students those ideals which the Senator holds dear---a strong belief in the rule of law, eloquence firmly based on reason, and an unwavering faith in the American political system. The endowment will be used to fund lectures, symposia, and the Chair of Public Affairs.”
A long roster of distinguished participants include: former President Gerald Ford; former Vice Presidents Al Gore and Walter Mondale; former Senators Mark Hatfield, Slade Gorton, Edmund Muskie, and Gaylord Nelson; former White House Counsels Ted Sorensen, Leon Panetta, and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.; and former Ambassadors Joseph Sisco, Andrew Young, and Paul Warnke.
The widely ranging conference subjects include:
The Frank Church Institute seeks to complete the funding of the first endowed professor, the continued Church Conferences, and the proposed Church Scholarships at BSU.