Date: Oct 11, 2010

Hofstra hosts symposium featuring former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Iraq and Afghanistan

Honorable Zalmay Khalilzad, Howard Dean and Ed Rollins to discuss the presidency and the United Nations

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY - Honorable Zalmay Khalilzad, who has served as ambassador to the United Nations, Iraq and Afghanistan, will be the keynote speaker at a one-day symposium examining the evolution of American presidential leadership at the U.N. and key policy challenges that lie ahead.

The symposium, "U.S. Presidential Leadership at the United Nations: Evaluating the Past 65 Years and Looking Ahead to 21^st Century Governance", will be held Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.. It is sponsored by the Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency and the Hofstra Cultural Center.

The first half of the symposium, which runs from 9:35 a.m. to 12:35 p.m., will be held at the Student Center Theater, Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center, North Campus, and will feature panel discussions with scholars from Hofstra and other universities and research institutes, including the United States Military Academy at West Point, the Congressional Research Service, and Ohio State University.

Ambassador Khalilzad's keynote address will be held at Monroe Lecture Center Theater, California Avenue, South Campus, at 2:20 p.m. and will be followed by a panel discussion including Khalilzad, and Kalikow Center Senior Presidential Fellows Howard B. Dean III and Edward J. Rollins. Admission to all symposium events is free and open to the public. For more information, about the symposium schedule, contact Hofstra Cultural Center at (516) 463-5669 or go to www.hofstra.edu/UN65. To register to attend the keynote address, go to www.hofstra.edu/khalilzad,

Ambassador Khalizad has a long history as a statesman, serving in some of the most turbulent areas in the world, and during one of the most challenging periods in American foreign policy. Most recently he was the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., skillfully navigating hot-button issues related to Darfur, Iran, and the Middle East.

In 2005, he was appointed Ambassador to Iraq, where he aided in negotiations to ratify the country's constitution. He also served in various roles advising President George W. Bush about Afghanistan, and was a Special Presidential Envoy to that country following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. In 2003, he was appointed ambassador to Afghanistan, where he oversaw the drafting of the country's constitution and its first elections.

Ambassador Khalilzhad has received the Department of Defense's Medal for Distinguished Service three times, and is the author of more than 200 books, studies, articles and reports that have been translated into several languages, including Arabic, Chinese, German and Turkish.

Howard B. Dean III and Edward J. Rollins were appointed Kalikow Center Senior Presidential Fellows in September 2010. Dean, a physician and former six-term governor of Vermont, was a Democratic presidential candidate and chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He is currently an independent consultant focusing on the areas of health care, early childhood development, alternative energy and the expansion of grassroots politics around the world.

Edward J. Rollins is a Republican strategist who has had key managerial roles in eight presidential campaigns, including the 1984 landslide victory of President Ronald Reagan. Rollins also has served in the administrations of four presidents. In 2008, he served as National Chairman of Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign. He is now a senior political analyst for CNN.

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students can choose from more than 150 undergraduate and 160 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business, communication, education and allied health services and honor studies, as well as a School of Law.