USC George Washington Leadership Lecture

Thursday, February 18, 2021

7 p.m. ET | 4 p.m. PT 

As our country's first president, George Washington had little choice but to create the first U.S. foreign policy. As we move into the third decade of the 21st century, we find ourselves at a crossroads. Do we reassert ourselves in the world, continue pulling back, or find a third path? The USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington will host two critical conversations to explore these issues, with welcome remarks by Dana Goldman, USC Price Interim Dean and USC Schaeffer Center Director. Kevin Butterfield, Executive Director of the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon, will speak briefly with Professor Abby Mullen of George Mason University about the precarious position of the United States on the global stage at the time of the American Founding. Then we will welcome Richard Haass, the President of the Council on Foreign Relations and author of The World: A Short Introduction, and Professor David Sloane of the USC Price School to discuss our status in the world today. Our recent catastrophe at Congress has reverberated around the world, making understanding where we stand and where we are going even more important.

About the Participants

Dana Goldman is the Interim Dean of the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, where he holds the Leonard Schaeffer Chair and is a Distinguished Professor of Public Policy, Pharmacy, and Economics. Dr. Goldman received his B.A. summa cum laude from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University.

 Richard Haass is a veteran diplomat, a prominent voice on American foreign policy, and an established leader of nonprofit institutions. He is in his eighteenth year as president of the Council on Foreign Relations, an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, publisher, and educational institution dedicated to being a resource to help people better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries.

Abby Mullen is Assistant Professor of History at George Mason University. She earned her Ph.D. in history from Northeastern University. Her dissertation investigates how the U.S. Navy forged international connections in the Mediterranean during the First Barbary War.