HOUSTON – (May 9, 2022) – Ambassador Edward Djerejian, director of Rice University’s globally top-ranked Baker Institute for Public Policy, will reflect on his 28-year directorship and discuss the future of think tanks in a special Director’s Lecture Series event May 12.
Djerejian, the institute’s founding director, will look back on the institute’s history in a conversation with Rice historian John Boles. Their discussion will also address the role and relevance of think tanks in a time of deep partisan division and widespread discontent with the status quo across the political spectrum.
Djerejian’s career in the U.S. Foreign Service spanned the administrations of eight presidents, from John F. Kennedy to Bill Clinton. He is a leading expert on national security, foreign policy and complex political, security, economic, religious and ethnic issues. He has played key roles in the Arab-Israeli peace process and regional conflict resolution and is the author of “Danger and Opportunity: An American Ambassador's Journey Through the Middle East.”
What: Baker Institute event, “Director's Lecture Series: Reflections on 28 Years at the Baker Institute.”
When: Thursday, May 12, 6-7:45 p.m. Discussion begins at 6:30 p.m. and a moderated question-and-answer session will follow the conversation.
Where: Doré Commons, James A. Baker III Hall at Rice University, 6100 Main St., Houston.
This event is free, but registration is required. A recording will be available on the event page the following day.
Members of the news media who want to attend should RSVP to Jeff Falk, director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu, and Avery Ruxer Franklin, media relations specialist at Rice, at averyrf@rice.edu or 713-348-6327.
For a map of Rice University’s campus with parking information, go to rice.edu/maps. Media should park in the Central Campus Garage (underground).
The Director’s Lecture Series was created and endowed by Djerejian and his wife, Françoise Djerejian, to provide a specific forum for Baker Institute Roundtable members, faculty and students to engage in the most relevant and pressing issues faced today.