Central Virginia Public Affairs Program

About the Central Virginia Public Affairs Forum...

The College strives to educate and serve the local community and to promote interaction between students who seek to be community leaders and the citizens of Southside Virginia.

At the center of this effort are public symposia of community interest. Often the Wilson Center develops, organizes, and sponsors symposia, or teams up with multi-disciplinary groups to present symposia. In other cases, the Wilson Center offers support by providing a portion of the funding.

2011-2012 Forum Events

•  General Stanley A. McChrystal - "Plywood Leadership: Leading in the post 9/11 World" keynote address - Wilson Center Dedication, 7:30 pm
• 10th Anniversary of 9/11 - "The Historical Significance of 9/11/01" John Bonin, Ph. D. USAWC 7:30 pm in Parents & Friends and "U.S. National Security After 9/11/01: A Tenth Anniversary Assessment"  Moderated by Lt. Gen Samuel V. Wilson with Lewis Robinson '91, Hal "Trey" Lackey '85 and LTC Karl Schneider '91 Crawley Forum, 7:30 Crawley Forum 
• Current Events Seminar Ciaran Buckley "Broken Europe: Sovereign Debt Crisis, Political Indecision" 4 pm Wilson Center
• Mark Suzman, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 4 pm @ Wilson Center
• Alumni Public Affairs Forum  Capt.Thomas Dickens '99 & Lt.Col Patrick Howard '88  "Rule of Law Project in Iraq" - 4 pm, Wilson Center, Lt. Col. Rucker Snead '81-moderator
• Dr. David Marion, Guest Instructor at workshop for high school teachers from Prince William County Public Schools, Montpelier, James Madison Home in Orange County
• Current Events Seminar - Neil Denton with American Red Cross, 4 pm Wilson Center
• Symposium on the 70th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor 4 pm and 7:30 Crawley Forum
• Current Events Seminar - Occupy Wall Street Movement with Profs. Carilli, Carroll and Lehman, 4 pm Wilson Center  
• "Impressions of Putin's Russia" Dr. James F. Pontuso, Patterson Professor of Government and Foreign Affairs, 4 pm Wilson Center
• International Development with Clay Doherty '97 Deputy Director, Office of Public Engagement, US Agency for International Development and Wilhelm Meierling '04 Communications Director, United Way Worldwide, 4 pm Wilson Center
• Congressman Robert Hurt '91 An Informal Session, 4 pm Wilson Center
• Alumni Summer College, The American Presidency and the Election of 2012, June 1 - 3 
• Bill of Rights Institute - Dr. David Marion leads a workshop to high school teachers, Arlington, VA

2010-2011 Forum Events

• Geneva Conventions & Asymmetric Warfare - BG Patrick Finnegan,USA Ret. Torture, the Rule of Law and the US Military April 14 @ 4 pm in Crawley Forum
• Geneva Conventions & Asymmetric Warfare - Dr. Gary Solis, Drones and Targeted Killing and Col Richard Jackson, USA Ret, Law of War Detention April 14, 7:30 pm in Crawley Forum
• Town Hall Meeting with Congressman Robert Hurt '91 - District 5, Crawley Forum, 7 pm April 11, 2011
• "The Forgotten War: Korean War 60th Anniversary" - Professors Dr. Eric Dinmore, Dr. Roger Barrus and Dr. Caroline Emmons, September 21 & 22, 2010
• "9/11 Anniversary" - The Honorable John Hillen, CEO of Global Defense Technology & Systems, Inc. September 11, 2010

2009 - 2010 Forum Events

• "Religion, Politics, and Culture in Global Perspective" - Sponsored by the Wilson Center, March 17-19 and 26-31, 2010
• "2009 Global Intelligence Assessment" - an address by Lt. General Patrick Hughes (USA ret), former director of the DIA - September 11, 2009.
• HIV and AIDS Symposium. Sponsored in part by the Wilson Center. Free and open to the Public, Crawley Forum. Spearheaded by visiting QEP scholars Dr. Monwabisi Gantsho and Dr. Moloko Ramashala-Gantsho. November 4 & 5, 2009

2008 - 2009 Forum Events

• "US Foreign Policy and National Security Challenges and the 2008 Presidential Election" - Speakers: Lt. General Samuel V. Wilson (USA ret), Maj. General Gary L. Harrell (USA ret), Former Delta Force Commander and specialist in operations and logistics, and The Rev. Dr. Ben C. Mathes, founder and President of Rivers of the World - September 11, 2008
• "Military Policy, the Media and Public Opinion" - Lt. Col. William Cowan, Retired Marine Corps officer & Fox News military analyst - January 29, 2009
• "Politics, Religion and Culture in Global Perspective" - Tuesday & Thursday, March 17 & 19 2009; Tuesday & Thursday, March 24 & 26 2009; Tuesday, March 31 2009

Lt. General Ronald L. Burgess, Jr.

2007 - 2008 Forum Events

• "The Global War on Terror and American National Will" - Speakers: General Samuel V. Wilson and General William "Gerry" Boykin. Chairman's Room. September 7, 2007.
• Memorial Service - with Guest Speaker Donn Marshall '86 & selections by the H-SC Men's Chorus. September 8, 2007.
• "Global Terrorism: A National Intelligence Briefing" - Speaker: Lt. General L. Ronald Burgess, Jr., Deputy Director for National Intelligence. Monday, September 10, 2007.
• Town Meeting with 5th District Congressman Virgil H. Goode, Jr. - November 26, 2007
• The Measure of Man: Masculinities in the 21st Century - A Symposium at Hampden-Sydney College. Sponsored by The Wilson Center for Leadership in the Public Interest and the Gender Issues Committee - Jan. 31st, Feb. 7th, 14th, and 21st, 2008.

2006 - 2007 Forum Events

• Conference America and the World: Sustaining Democracy in the Global Age, sponsored by Longwood University, with support by the Wilson Center, on behalf of Hampden-Sydney College. Keynote Speaker: Richard Holbrooke, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Part of the Jamestown 400th Anniversary Commemoration; sessions held at both Longwood and Hampden-Sydney. Thursday - Saturday, 1/25-27...
• Special National Intelligence Estimate: Putin and Russia's Failed Experiment in Democracy - Lt. General Samuel V. Wilson & Dr. James Simms, Jr.
  December 11, 2006
• Energy and the Public Interest: Reflections on a National Energy Strategy for the Twenty-First Century
  September 19-21 and October 12, 2006
• 5th District Congressional Debate
  November 1, 2006

Noted author, commentator, and columnist Dr. Victor Davis Hanson speaks to an attentive audience at Hampden-Sydney College. Story and Pictures...

2005 - 2006 Forum Events

• Warfare, Ancient and Modern: Dr. Victor Davis Hanson, Hoover Institution; noted author, columnist, and NPR, PBS, and C-span guest
  April 10, 2006
• Winter Symposium: Beyond Left and Right: Alternatives to the Nation-State

* January 26 - Dr. Peter Boettke, George Mason University - Beyond Left and Right: Why the American Populace is Ill-Served by the Political Establishment
* January 31- Dr. William A. Galston, Saul Stern Professor at the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy - "Political Pluralism"
* February 9 - David Boaz, Executive Vice President, The Cato Institute - "Bipartisan Big Government in Washington"
* February 14 - Dr. Edward Stringham, San Jose State University - "Is Government Necessary"
• Fall Town Meeting with 5th District Congressman Virgil Goode, Jr. - November 29, 2005
• World War II - 60 Years After - September 9-14, 2005

Gen. Bryan D. "Doug" Brown, Commander, US Special Operations Command, at the War on Terrorism - Three Years After symposium.

2004 - 2005 Forum Events

• The War on Terrorism - Three Years After
  September 7-9, 2004
  Full article from The Record in November 2004
• Presentation by Hon. Gerald L. Baliles
  October 11, 2004
• 5th District Congressional Debate
  October 26, 2004
• "Taking Sex Differences Seriously" - Dr. Steven Rhoads, author & professor of politics, University of Virginia - January 27, 2005
• In Pursuit of Happiness: Public Health and the Public Good in Contemporary America - March 30-31, 2005

Past Symposia and other Public Affairs Forum Events