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    1. UNG
    2. Corps of Cadets
    3. Institute for Leadership and Strategic Studies
    4. Annual Symposia

    United States Higher Education & National Security

    An educated populace provides a public and private good for American society strengthening U.S. military and non-military elements of national security. For the purpose of this symposium, national security is the safekeeping and well-being of the nation as a whole. The U.S. military is a vital component of the national security apparatus, but there are many other means of assuring security in which higher education plays a crucial role.

    This symposium will explore ways in which higher education serves to strengthen U.S. security through the lens of the human security theoretical framework and all of its components of personal, community, political, food, health-care, economic, and environmental security, as well as others such as energy and military security. The University of North Georgia’s Institute for Leadership and Strategic Studies, College of Education, and Strategic and Security Studies Program will partner with the Army War College, the Association of the United States Army, the Army Strategist Association, and the Atlanta Council on International Relations to host this symposium. Potential questions that may stimulate ideas and contribute to the discussion are:

    • What is the current relationship between higher education and the military in the United States?  What is the future of that relationship? 
    • What are the contemporary issues in U.S. higher education that impact national security?
    • What U.S. higher education-related national policies or programs exist to enhance national security?  
    • What U.S. national security higher educational needs are not being addressed, or being inadequately addressed in the academe?
    • What do other countries do to enhance the relationship between their higher education systems and their own national security interests?

    Format

    The symposium will consist of a series of speakers and panels on April 6-7, 2022. Panelists will be selected competitively from those who submit abstracts for papers, and travel and lodging will be covered by the symposium. 

    • Symposium Planning Group

      Eddie Mienie, Ph.D., Executive Director, Strategic Studies Program & Partnerships and Associate Professor of Strategic Studies & Security Studies
      Michael Lanford, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, UNG College of Education, Department of Social Foundations and Leadership Education
      Bonnie (BJ) Robinson, Ph.D., Director, University of North Georgia Press
      Keith Antonia, Ed.D., Associate Vice President for Military Programs & Executive Director of the Institute for Leadership and Strategic Studies
      Heath Williams, Director of UNG Federal Liaison and Military Education Coordinator
      Dr. C. Anthony Pfaff, Research Professor for Strategy, the Military Profession and Ethic Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College
      Mrs. Nzinga Curry, M.A., Director of Education & Programs, Association of the United States Army
      Jan (Ken) Gleiman, Ph.D., President, Army Strategist Association
      Anthony (Tony) A. Cuzzucoli, Member of the Board of Directors, Atlanta Council on International Relations

    • 2022 Symposium Flyer (PDF)
    • Relationship with Academia is Essential, AUSA's Brown Says (PDF)
    • Symposium will explore higher ed links to national security
    • Symposium focuses on higher ed impact on security

    Date

    April 6-7, 2022

    Location

    University of North Georgia
    Dahlonega Campus
    Convocation Center

    Accessibility

    If you need closed captioning for this event, please email Keith Antonia or call 706 867-4576.

    Disclaimer

    Advertisements, promotions, statements and logos are those of the individual parties or other organizations participating in this event. The individual parties neither state nor imply any endorsement or recommendation with regard to these organizations.

    Register Now

    Virtual Participation

    This symposium is designed to be an in-person event. If you are unable to attend in person, participation via Zoom will be an option. You must register for the symposium to receive the Zoom link, which will be e-mailed to you on April 4th.

    • Schedule
    • Speakers
    • Admin Info
    • Panels
    • Individual Presentations
    • Recordings & Proceedings

    Schedule

    Schedule details will be updated as symposium planning progresses.

    Wednesday, April 6, 2022

    Time Activity
    8:00 a.m. In-Person Check-In at the Convocation Center, Dahlonega Campus, University of North Georgia
    8:40 a.m. Welcome and Opening Remarks
    8:55 a.m. Introduce General Brown, U.S. Army (Retired), President and CEO, Association of the United States Army
    9:00 a.m. Keynote Address: General Brown.
    Theme: What is the current relationship between higher education and the military in the United States? What is the future of that relationship?
    9:30 a.m. Question and Answer Session
    9:45 a.m. Break
    10:00 a.m. Introduce Panel 1. Moderator - Dan Papp, Ph.D.; Consultant, Pendleton Group & Scholar of International Affairs and Policy; former President of Kennesaw State University
    10:05 a.m.

    Panel 1 Theme: How higher education fills the security gap in the post-Cold War era

    Panelists: Dlynn Williams, Ph.D., Head of the University of North Georgia Department of Political Science and International Affairs (PSIA); along with PSIA faculty members Cristian Harris, Ph.D., Professor; Craig Greathouse, Ph.D., Professor and Associate Department Head; Edward Mienie, Ph.D., Professor and Executive Director, Strategic Studies Program; 

    11:00 a.m. Question and Answer Session
    11:15 a.m. Break
    11:30 a.m. Introduce Colonel Larry M. Wortzel, Ph.D., U.S. Army (Retired), Senior Fellow in Asian Security, American Foreign Policy Council
    11:35 a.m.

    Keynote Address: Colonel Wortzel.
    China and the US: Competing Interests and Strategies in the Asia-Pacific Region

    12:05 p.m. Question and Answer Session
    12:20 p.m. No-host lunch break
    1:30 p.m. Introduce Panel 2. Moderator - Michael Lanford, Ph.D., University of North Georgia Assistant Professor of Higher Education
    1:35 p.m.

    Panel 2 Theme: Rethinking Higher Education Practices to Stimulate Innovation and Global Security

    Panelists: Professor Jacek Dworzecki and Associate Professor Izabela Nowicka, University of Land Forces, Wroclaw, Poland; Shannon Vaughn, Virtru Federal; Iyonka Strawn-Valcy, Georgia Institute of Technology Director of Global Operations; Magdalena Bogacz, Ed.D., Assistant Professor of Leadership and Ethics at Air University’s Global College; Crystal Shelnutt, Ed.D., Senior Lecturer at the University College of West Georgia 

    2:30 p.m. Question and Answer Session
    2:45 p.m. Break
    3:00 p.m. Introduce Margaret E. Kosal, Ph.D., Professor, Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology.
    3:05 p.m. Keynote Address: Margaret Kosal, Ph.D.
    National Security, Emerging Technologies, and Higher Education
    3:35 p.m. Question and Answer Session
    3:50 p.m. Break
    4:00 p.m. Introduce Panel 3. Moderator - Mr. Steven Weldon, Director, Cyber Institute, School of Computer & Cyber Sciences, Augusta University
    4:05 p.m.

    Panel 3 Theme: Science, Technology, and Strategic Analytics

    Panelists: Eric Toler, Executive Director of the Georgia Cyber Center; Greg Parlier, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor of Operations Research at North Carolina State University & President, GH Parlier Consulting; Dr. Sukarno Mertoguno, Georgia Tech Deputy Director of the Institute for Information Security & Privacy; Christopher J. Lowrance and C. Anthony Pfaff, Ph.D., Army War College

    5:00 p.m. Question and Answer Session
    5:15 p.m. Break
    6:30 p.m. Social at The Smith House on the Square in Dahlonega
    9:00 p.m. End of Day 1

    Thursday, April 7, 2022

    Time Activity
    8:30 a.m. In-Person Check-In at the Convocation Center, Dahlonega Campus, University of North Georgia
    8:45 a.m. Welcome and Opening Remarks
    8:55 a.m. Introduce Major General Mick Ryan, Australian Defence Force (Retired), Author of War Transformed
    9:00 a.m.

    Keynote Address: Major General Mick Ryan
    Theme: Military, Academia and Industry – a Vital 21st Century Trinity

    9:30 a.m. Question and Answer Session
    9:45 a.m. Break
    9:55 a.m. Introduce Panel 4. Moderator Colonel Jan (Ken) K. Gleiman, Ph.D., U.S. Army (Retired); President, Army Strategist Association
    10:00 a.m.

    Panel 4 Theme: Leveraging Higher Education to Grow Military Strategists

    Nicholas Murray, D.Phil., FRHistS, Secretary of Defense’s Strategic Thinkers Program at Johns Hopkins; Colonel Francis Park, U.S. Army, Director of the Basic Strategic Art Program at the U.S. Army War College; Robert Davis, Ph.D., Associate Dean of Academics at the Army Command and General Staff School.

    11:00 a.m. Question and Answer Session
    11:15 a.m. Break
    11:30 a.m. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Supervisory Special Agent
    11:35 a.m. Keynote Address: FBI Supervisory Special Agent will speak on espionage in higher education
    12:00 p.m. Question and Answer Session
    12:15 p.m. No-host lunch break for participants; Hosted networking lunch for speakers, panelists, and moderators
    1:30 p.m. Dr. Anthony Eames, Director of Scholarly Initiatives at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, “National Security and the Historian’s Ethos”
    1:45 p.m. Imani Cabell and Katherine Rose Adams, Ph.D., University of North Georgia, “Encouraging Dual-enrolled Students to Enroll in Corps of Cadets at Senior Military Colleges: Barriers and Opportunities”
    2:00 p.m. Cadet Natali Gvalia, David Aghmashenebeli National Defence Academy, "Higher Education and National Security in the USA"
    2:15 p.m. Lieutenant Colonel Ioseb Japaridze, Ph.D., Head of the Republic of Georgia Postgraduate Degree Programs at David Aghmashenebeli National Defence Academy, "The Need to Prepare Strategic Leaders for the State Security Sector as an Important Mission of the Country's Higher Education System"
    2:30 p.m. "An Overview of Emerging Technologies: A U.S. Coast Guard Cadet Panel," moderated by Angela G. Jackson-Summers, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Information Systems, Department of Management, U.S. Coast Guard Academy
    3:00 p.m. Closing Remarks
    3:15 p.m. End of Symposium
    *All times U.S. Eastern Daylight Time

    Speakers

    General Brown - President and CEO, Association of the U.S. Army

    General Brown

    General Brown is an experienced leader, culminating over 38 years of service as Commanding General, U.S. Army Pacific, the Army’s largest Service Component Command, responsible for 106,000 Soldiers and Department of the Army civilians across the Indo-Pacific Region.

    General Brown is a 1981 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, where he was commissioned as an Infantry Second Lieutenant. His assignments took him across the globe including deployments in support of Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti, Operation Joint Forge in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and two combat deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Other senior level commands include the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; I Corps and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington; the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence and Fort Benning, Georgia.

    Known as an innovator, team builder, and leader developer, General Brown was involved in significant change within the Army. He was a key leader in the development of the modular brigade and Stryker Brigade Combat Team; the improvement of the Army’s educational system through the development of Army University; the writing of the Army’s first Leader Development Doctrine in Field Manual 6-22; the Army Human Dimension Strategy and the future Army warfighting concept of Multi-Domain Operations.

    He also served as Chief of Staff for U.S. Army Europe; Deputy Commanding General (Support) for the 25th Infantry Division; Commander, 1st Brigade (Stryker) 25th Infantry Division; Commander, 2nd Battalion 5th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division; the Joint Staff, J-8; Army Staff, Strategy and War Plans Division G3/5/7 in the Pentagon; Aide-de-Camp, Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Army; Executive Officer to Commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command; Assistant Professor and Deputy Director, Center for Enhanced Performance, USMA, West Point and Infantry Assignment Officer, HRC.

    General Brown holds a Bachelor of Science from the United States Military Academy, a Master of Education from the University of Virginia, and a Master of Science in National Security and Strategic Studies (Distinguished Graduate) from National Defense University. He was a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Association of the United States Army before becoming Executive Vice President in January 2021.

    Larry M. Wortzel, Ph.D. - Senior Fellow in Asian Security, American Foreign Policy Council

    Dr. Larry M. Wortzel had a distinguished 32-year military career, retiring as an Army Colonel in 1999. A graduate of the U.S. Army War College, he earned his BA from Columbus College, Georgia, and his MA and Ph.D. from the University of Hawaii. His last military position was the Director of the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College.

    He is currently a senior fellow in Asian security at the American Foreign Policy Council and an Adjunct Research Professor at the U.S. Army War College. After three years in the Marine Corps and attending some college, Dr. Wortzel began his professional career assessing political and military events in China as a sergeant in the U.S. Army Security Agency in 1970 and gathering communications intelligence on Chinese military activities in Laos and Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

    After Infantry Officer Candidate School, Ranger and Airborne training, he was an infantry officer for four years. He moved back into military intelligence in 1977. In the Indo–Pacific theater, he has served in the 3rd Battalion, 27th Marines; 7th Radio Research Field Station, Thailand; 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry in Korea; U.S. Pacific Command; attached to the Defense Attaché Office in Singapore; and served two tours of duty as Military Attaché at the American Embassy in China.

    After retiring from the Army, Dr. Wortzel was the Asian Studies Center Director and then the Vice President at The Heritage Foundation. He served as a commissioner on the congressionally-appointed U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission between November 2001 and December 2020.

    Margaret E. Kosal, Ph.D., Professor, Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology

    photo of margaret kosal

    Dr. Kosal will address important questions related to national security and higher education. What are the roles and significance of emerging technologies and how should the national security community respond to the promise and perils of emerging technologies? How will these nascent scientific and technological developments impact local, regional, and international security, stability, and cooperation in Europe, Asia, and the developing world? What are the most likely sources of technological surprise with the largest threat capacity and how can the national security community better identify them sooner? What are roles for higher education, gaps, and vulnerabilities in current efforts? This talk will explore these issues and offer recommendations to improve U.S. national security.

    Dr. Kosal holds appointments as affiliated faculty in the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience and the Georgia Tech Institute for Robotics and Intelligence Machines (IRIM) at Georgia Tech. Her research explores the relationships among technology, strategy, and governance. She focuses on two, often intersecting, areas: understanding the geopolitics of emerging technologies and reducing the threat of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and other unconventional weapons.

    Dr. Margaret E. Kosal is Associate Professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Institute of Technology, where she is the Director of the Sam Nunn Security Program and the Georgia Tech Military Fellows Program. She holds appointments as affiliated faculty in the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience and the Georgia Tech Institute for Robotics and Intelligence Machines (IRIM) at Georgia Tech. Her research explores the relationships among technology, strategy, and governance. She focuses on two, often intersecting, areas:  understanding the geopolitics of emerging technologies and reducing the threat of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and other unconventional weapons.

    Formally trained as an experimental scientist, Kosal earned a doctoral degree in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) working on biomimetic and nano-structured functional materials. She is also the co-founder of a sensor company, where she led research and development of medical, biological, chemical sensors and explosives detection. During AY 2016-2017, she served as a Senior Adjunct Scholar to the Modern War Institute at West Point. Kosal previously has served as a Senior Advisor to the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, as Science and Technology Advisor within the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), and as an Associate to the National Intelligence Council (NIC). She is the recipient of multiple awards including the Office of the Secretary of Defense Award for Excellence.

    Kosal is the author of numerous publications including Nanotechnology for Chemical and Biological Defense, which explores scenarios, benefits, and potential proliferation threats of nanotechnology and other emerging sciences; editor of the volume, Technology and the Intelligence Community: Challenges and Advances for the 21st Century, and editor and contributor to the volume Disruptive and Game Changing Technologies in Modern Warfare: Development, Use, and Proliferation and the forthcoming volume Weapons Technology Proliferation:  Diplomatic, Information, Military, Economic Approaches to Technological Proliferation.

    Mick Ryan, Major General, Australian Army (Retired) and Author of War Transformed, published on 15 February 2022 by USNI Books.

    Mick Ryan grew up in a small mining town in Central Queensland before attending the Australian Defence Force Academy and the Royal Military College (Duntroon). He is a strategist, author and speaker and has a distinctive mixture of experience and skills, which is underpinned by a foundation of seeking excellence in himself and those he leads.

    He has over thirty years of being part of dynamic groups that have focussed on overcoming the most adverse of circumstances to solve complex institutional problems. Whether it has been in a small town supplying clean drinking water, leading the reconstruction efforts for an entire province in southern Afghanistan, or managing institutional change management efforts for the Australian Army or Australian Defence Force, he is most comfortable when part of a professional, diverse team of professionals focusing on challenging problems.

    Mick’s early career was spent in the military building a foundation of leadership and management experience. He was able to complete a varied range of appointments in operations, training and organisational development and he served internationally in East Timor, Indonesia, the United States, Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as an exchange posting with the U.S. Marine Corps. In more senior appointments, Mick led the development and execution of large-scale organisational reform programs that included the Adaptive Army program, the 2016-17 reform of Australian Army training and education, as well as Defence wide education and training from 2018-2021. He also represented Australia on a secondment in the Pentagon where he worked on strategy for the US Chairman of Joint Chiefs during the Obama Administration.

    Notwithstanding his deep experience in institutional leadership and delivering organisational transformation, his first love over 35 years has been investing in people. In this technological era, many forget that it is people upon which companies and institutions are founded. To that end, Mick has a deep and abiding commitment to leading and personally investing in people, being an exemplar for their continuous learning and being their most passionate advocate.

    Mick is deeply committed to learning as a lifelong undertaking. He seeks to set the example for those he leads in this regard, while being a recognised global expert and influencer in professional military education, strategic military planning, institutional reform and adaptation, and leadership. In this regard he has become an in-demand speaker and has addressed forums, conferences and educational institutions across the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, Indonesia, India, and Australia.

    Mick was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his leadership of Australia’s first reconstruction task force in Afghanistan. He holds master’s degrees in operational studies, public policy, and military studies from the Marine Corps University and from Johns Hopkins University. He is married to Jocelyn, and they have two adult daughters. In his spare time, he enjoys running, reading, writing, the cinema, and walking. He completed his 35-year career with the Australian Army and transitioned to the Army Reserve as a Major General in February 2022. His book, War Transformed, was published on 15 February 2022 by USNI Books.

    Federal Bureau of Investigation National Security Analysts

    fbi-speaker.jpg

    The FBI will speak on foreign espionage in higher education.

    Admin Info

    About the Area

    The University of North Georgia is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Dahlonega, Georgia, site of the first major gold rush in the United States. UNG is also home to the Army’s 5th Ranger Training Battalion, the mountain phase of the elite Ranger School.

    Information about lodging and things to do is at the Discover Dahlonega website.

    • Maps & Directions
    • Where to Park (PDF)
    historic downtown dahlonega square
    UNG dahlonega campus at dusk with mountains in background
    historic shopping in old houses in historic downtown dahlonega

    Where to Eat

    The University of North Georgia campus dining facility is a five-minute walk from the convocation center. Breakfast ($7.79), Lunch ($9.29), and Dinner ($9.29) – these prices include tax and credit cards are accepted. There are also many restaurants on the square downtown Dahlonega – a walking distance of 10 minutes from the convocation center.

    Panels

    Panel 1: How Higher Education Fills the Security Gap in the Post-Cold War Era

    April 6, 10:00 - 11:15 a.m.

    This panel will discuss the role of higher education, in support of US security interests, to enhance cooperation and connectivity between states when governmental efforts are underfunded or cannot be brought to bear on a situation. In addition, the panel will cover the importance of curricular innovation at the undergraduate and graduate levels to prepare U.S. students for future careers in diplomacy and security studies through a case study of the efforts at the University of North Georgia.

    • Panelists

      Dlynn Williams, Ph.D

      Department Head for the Department of Political Science & International Affairs
      Area(s) of Expertise: International Relations; Security Studies; International Political Economy; and Northeast Asian politics (China, Korea, Japan)

      Dr. Dlynn Williams came to North Georgia College (as it was then known) in 1997 after completing her Ph.D. from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Her graduate work focused on international security, East Asian politics, comparative foreign policy and international relations theory. Throughout her time at the University of North Georgia (UNG), Dr. Williams has received awards in both teaching and scholarship. She has been recognized for her internationalization efforts nationally. Due to her strong interest in internationalization she served as the founding Director of UNG’s Center for Global Engagement (CGE) and currently serves as the Department Head of the Political Science & International Affairs Department.


      Edward Mienie, Ph.D.

      Executive Director, Strategic Studies Program & Partnerships and Professor of Strategic & Security Studies
      Area(s) of Expertise: Strategic & Security Studies; State Fragility; Politics of Africa

      Mienie has more than 20 years of experience working in international relations and business, media relations, and coalition building. He earned a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of South Africa and received his doctorate in international conflict management while teaching and leading the academic exchange program with South Africa at Kennesaw State University.


      Cristian Harris

      Cristian Harris, Ph.D.

      Master of Arts in International Affairs, Program Coordinator
      Area(s) of Expertise: International Political Economy, Comparative Global Development, Latin American Politics, Global Governance

      Dr. Harris has been working at UNG (formerly NGCSU) since 2005. Previously, Dr. Harris worked in universities in the U.S. states of Delaware (University of Delaware), New Jersey (The College of New Jersey), Texas (University of Texas at Austin), and the province of Ontario in Canada (Queen's University at Kingston). He also worked in the private sector both in the non-profit and corporate private sector.

      Dr. Harris is the program coordinator for the Master of Arts in International Affairs (MAIA) program.

      An accomplished academic, teacher and mentor, he received UNG’s highest award - the Distinguished Teaching Award - in 2018. In addition, he received the NGCSU Excellence in Teaching Award in 2009; Outstanding Academic Advisor awards in 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2016; and was named an SGA Outstanding Faculty Member in 2008. In 2019 the Georgia Political Science Association awarded him its McBrayer Award for best paper presented at its 2018 annual conference.

      His research interests include the role of U.S. universities in public diplomacy, the comparative development of Settler Societies, and the Political Economy of Latin America in the Twentieth Century.


      Craig Whitehouse

      Craig Greathouse, Ph.D.

      Professor, Associate Department Head
      Area(s) of Expertise: Security and Defense Policy, European Politics

      Dr. Craig Greathouse joined UNG in the Fall of 2007 with the introduction of the International Affairs major. He received his degree B.A. and M.A. in political science from the University of Akron and his Ph.D. in political science from the Claremont Graduate School in 1999. His fields of expertise are security and defense policy and European politics; he teaches numerous courses in these areas at the undergraduate and graduate level. He has had several articles published on defense and security policy and on European politics.

      While at UNG he has twice been recognized with Information Literacy grants for innovative teaching within the classroom. Currently he is the graduate advisor to all students in the M.A. in International Affairs program and to students in the European concentration for the International Affairs major. Dr. Greathouse spends part of his free time designing and running simulations of the international system. He has helped design and present these simulations to the National Defense University, teachers groups, and elements of the U.S. military.


    • Moderator

      Dr. Daniel S. Papp

      Consultant, Pendleton Group & Scholar of International Affairs and Policy,
      Former President of Kennesaw State University

      Dr. Daniel S. Papp retired as President of Kennesaw State University (KSU) in 2016.  Since his retirement, he has served as President of Papp Consulting LLC.

      During his 10 years as president, Papp led the consolidation of KSU and Southern Polytechnic State, making KSU one of the 50 largest U.S. universities; initiated its first doctoral programs; led KSU’s first capital campaign; added over $500 million of facilities; guided KSU into NCAA Division I athletics including intercollegiate football; expanded KSU’s external funded research; and doubled KSU’s study abroad program, including opening KSU’s first international campus.

      Before becoming KSU President, Papp was Senior Vice Chancellor for Academics and Fiscal Affairs of the University System of Georgia (USG); Interim President of Southern Polytechnic; Executive Assistant to the President of Georgia Tech; Founding Director of Tech’s Sam Nunn School of International Affairs; and Director of Tech’s School of Social Sciences.

      Papp has been Senior Research Scholar at both the Center for Aerospace Doctrine of the Air War College and the Strategic Studies Institute of the Army War College.  The Army twice awarded him the “Outstanding Civilian Service” medal.  He also has been Visiting Professor at Western Australia Institute of Technology in Perth; Visiting Professor at Fudan University in Shanghai; and led study abroad programs to the Soviet Union, France, Germany, and Italy.   

      A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Dartmouth College, Dr. Papp earned his Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami.  He is the author, co-author, or editor of 14 books and over 80 articles on U.S. and Soviet/Russian foreign policy and international relations, including former Secretary of State Dean Rusk’s autobiography, As I Saw It.

    Panel 2: Rethinking Higher Education Practices to Stimulate Innovation and Global Security

    April 6, 1:30 - 2:45 p.m.
    • Panelists

      Jacek Dworzecki

      Jacek Dworzcecki is a professor at the Military University of Land Forces in Wroclaw and the Academy Police Force in Bratyslava. He was also a former police oficer. He has authored over two hundred scientific papers about security, combating crime, criminology. He is also the head of the Polish and Slovak research teams in the frame of international scientific project.

      Izabela Nowicka

      Izabela Nowicka is an associate professor at the Military University of Land Forces in Wroclaw. A former police oficer and an author of scientific papers about security, criminal law, military law, and criminology. She is a member of Polish and Slovak research teams in the frame of international scientific project.

      Participation of Polish military universities in education for security as a task of the Polish national security system.

      Security itself is an eternal and important need and allows the freedom to fully develop all the attributes humanity. The genesis of security, on the other hand, can be traced back to a sense of direct danger in an unfamiliar natural environment and the resulting dangers. As long as the social perception is that the surrounding phenomena have little negative impact on the existence of individuals, they feel secure. The assessment of one's own capacities is a decisive factor in determining which anxieties-threats are considered insignificant by society. Trends and new developments in contemporary education are largely determined by socio-economic changes. Both positive and negative phenomena can be seen here.

      This article analyses the Polish system of education for security and aims to answer the question whether it fulfils the task of the Polish national security system in a situation of global crises and related pathologies. Such an approach forced the necessity to pay attention to the problems of the system of education for safety in Poland, to the contemporary threats facing man.They require him to be constantly aware of them and to learn how to deal with them. Threats that have not existed before or that have existed for a long time should not be underestimated, as it is possible to prepare for them and thus ensure the safety of a society, a group or an individual. Education in this area becomes the guarantor of the above. A scientific exploration of the issue points to the importance of people's awareness of the consequences of hazards. The most glaring example is the covid-19 pandemic. It has created a multifaceted crisis that has gone beyond public health concerns. It now touches almost all dimensions of collective life, from economic to social, political and cultural issues. This phenomenon has already changed our perception of the reality around us and of interpersonal interactions, in both private and public dimensions, and in particular the security dimension. The most structured deepening of knowledge and public awareness of security takes place within the education system. The school subject of safety education is one element of the compulsory education that every pupil must receive.

      At present, safety education is carried out at school, through projects undertaken by the various services and guards and the military, as well as through associations and NGOs. Irrespective of education in this field in primary schools, the entities involved in activities related to learning for safety are universities, including military universities. They provide undergraduate and graduate education in fields such as national security, internal security and public safety. The analysis conducted for the purpose of this publication was based on the available literature on the subject, legal acts, media reports and several expert interviews with soldiers and civilian personnel of the armed forces dealing with security education issues.


      Shannon Vaughn

      Shannon Vaughn is the General Manager of Virtru Federal, a global leader in data encryption, privacy and protection. As the General Manager of Virtru Federal, Shannon leads the business development, operations, and delivery of Virtru’s U.S. and international federal engagements. Prior to joining the company, Shannon served in multiple leadership roles, including VP of Technology, Chief Product Owner, and Chief Innovation Officer.

      Shannon is also a U.S. Army intelligence officer with 18 years of service and currently serves at Army Futures Command in the Reserves. Previously he served as a Defense Intelligence Agency Reserve Attaché with seven embassy support tours across East Asia and Oceania.

      Shannon is a world traveler always in pursuit of knowledge, visiting 49 states, 56 countries, and 6 continents. Shannon is a graduate of the University of North Georgia and the Department of Defense Language Institute. He is married to his wife Christy and has two wonderful young children. 

      Shannon will speak on the importance of cultural development and understanding from his personal experience.

      Understanding China Through Immersion: An Anomaly Story

      In my nearly 18 years in the Army, I have met impossibly smart, hardworking U.S. Soldiers who go the extra mile to do their jobs to the best of their abilities. And to a fault, save maybe a handful of those, they lacked the cultural understanding necessary to effectively interpret the mind of the average Peoples Liberation Army Soldier. That is not to say, every Soldier needs to be a China scholar. But even Foreign Area Officers for China often lack the requisite skills necessary.

      There is a litany of reasons why, but I think it comes down to two mains buckets:

      • hard problems take time to learn (and we do not start people early enough);
      • the military does not reward specialists.

      North Georgia is one of a handful of universities that I know that puts students through language programs and works to get them overseas quickly and for longer than a semester. But if you add up all those programs you may have a few hundred students get face-to-face time, in-country immersed in the language for more than a few months (one semester).

      My story is the anomaly—not the norm. But it’s worth highlighting how many anomalies had to happen for my story to work:

      I was born into a family where my parents adopted four of my siblings from China starting when I was 12 years old. I unfortunately did not start studying Chinese in earnest, however, until I was 20 years old—and that is only thanks to the University of North Georgia-Defense Language Institute program, where I was the first person to graduate. Then North Georgia created an exchange program with Tsinghua University—I finish my last semester in Beijing taking classes with locals. From there I was pushed through conventional Army training and would never been asked about China. Instead, I moved to Washington D.C. to seek a job as a translator---my language still was not good enough, so I moved back to Beijing to work at a local hospital in the information technology department.

      After graduating the Army’s Military Intelligence Officer Basic Course, I fortunately knew someone in the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Reserve Attaché program and applied when I was an Army lieutenant. I was rejected as the program only accepted Army majors and above. I applied again after meeting the right DIA civilian who valued in-country cultural experience over rank. Finally, I was admitted to the unit. For the next nine years I focused solely on China. I did seven support tours to embassies in Asia. I wrote more reports than any other attaché in the military that decade. I believe there is a need to start cultural immersion/languages earlier and create paths for subject matter experts at the start of their Army careers.


      Iyonka Strawn-Valcy

      Iyonka Strawn-Valcy is the Director of Global Operations at the Georgia Institute of Technology. With 20+ years of experience in non-profit administration and international higher education leadership, she provides leadership and strategic operational guidance to Georgia Tech’s international enterprises and is particularly active in the development of Georgia Tech’s campuses in Lorraine, France and Shenzhen, China. A doctoral candidate in UNG’s 2021 Higher Education Leadership and Practice Ed.D. program, Strawn-Valcy holds a master’s degree in psychology and a graduate certificate in student affairs law and policy from Florida International University.

      Ms. Strawn-Valcy’s presentation will detail how research-intensive universities are navigating today’s challenging geopolitical environment while enacting internationalization strategies to foster innovation and global collaboration.


      Magdalena Bogacz

      Magdalena Bogacz is an Assistant Professor of Leadership and Ethics at Air University’s Global College. Dr. Bogacz holds a Global Executive Doctorate in Education from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and a Master of Arts in Philosophy from KU Leuven in Belgium. Hence, her research is multidisciplinary and explores the social and psychological elements of education, with a specific focus on inequities in faculty socialization and the motivational factors that impact organizational culture and change. Her most recent project draws on her background in philosophy to examine how Just War Theory can incorporate the Aristotelian view on the proper telos of war, that is, peace. Dr. Bogacz holds a Global Executive Doctorate in Education from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and a Master of Arts in Philosophy from KU Leuven in Belgium.

      Dr. Bogacz’s presentation will draw from her dissertation research on how higher education can improve faculty socialization practices to enhance institutional diversity, thereby improving innovation and cutting-edge research that can support national security.


      Crystal Shelnutt

      Crystal Shelnutt is a Senior Lecturer in the University College at the University of West Georgia. She holds an Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership and Practice from the University of North Georgia, an M.A. in English from the University of West Georgia, and an M.B.A. from Kennesaw State University. Dr. Shelnutt’s research interests include business and professional communication, innovation in higher education, work-based and experiential learning, and the nexus between formal education practices and cultural competencies.

      Dr. Shelnutt’s presentation, based on three years of ongoing research, will outline the skills essential for innovation in the 21st century - including intercultural awareness, critical thinking, and communication - and the current institutional barriers to developing such vital competencies in undergraduate students.

    • Moderator

      Michael Lanford, Ph.D

      Michael Lanford is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education at the University of North Georgia. His teaching and research explores the social dimensions of education, with specific attention to equity, globalization, institutional innovation, organizational culture, and qualitative methods. In April 2022, his first book, entitled Creating a Culture of Mindful Innovation in Higher Education, will be published by SUNY Press. Additionally, Dr. Lanford has written approximately 30 articles and book chapters for scholarly publications such as the American Educational Research Journal, Educational Philosophy and Theory, Higher Education, Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, and Qualitative Inquiry. He has received funding to present his research in Canada, Hong Kong, Mexico, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

    Panel 3: Science, Technology, and Strategic Analytics

    April 6, 4:00 - 5:15 p.m.
    • Panelists
      eric toler

      Eric Toler

      Executive Director of the Georgia Cyber Center

      Eric Toler joined Augusta University in 2018 as Executive Director of the Georgia Cyber Center. Mr. Toler previously served in the U.S. Army as a Military Intelligence Officer, retiring with over 27 years of leadership and national security experience. During his military career, he was a pioneer in leading and developing cyberspace operations capabilities for the Army and Department of Defense, serving in key positions within Army Cyber Command, U.S. Cyber Command, and the National Security Agency.

      In his role as Executive Director of the Georgia Cyber Center, Mr. Toler is responsible for fulfilling the mission of the Georgia Cyber Center, which is to create an ecosystem of collaboration that helps solve our state’s and our nation’s most challenging cybersecurity problems through innovative education, training, research, and practical applications between private and public industries. He works with a multitude of partners from government, academia, and private industry to help develop the professional workforce required to secure our state and our nation in cyberspace.

      In addition to numerous military schools and training, Mr. Toler holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Henderson State University, a Master of Public Administration from the University of Kansas, and a Master of Science in National Security Strategy from National Defense University. He has numerous military awards and decorations, to include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and two Bronze Star Medals 


      Greg Parlier, Ph.D., Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired)

      Adjunct professor of Operations Research at North Carolina State University
      President, GH Parlier Consulting

      Dr. Parlier will discuss how can we address, in imaginative and creative ways, the many persisting problems and seemingly intractable national and global security challenges that confront us? To fully capitalize on advances in information technologies, the complementary power of Operations Research, data sciences, and management innovation will be essential. Accordingly, “Strategic Analytics", the alignment of optimization methods, predictive models, and descriptive techniques with the ends-ways-means strategy paradigm, is presented. Enabling disciplines and functional components are described, "engines for innovation” to encourage and guide transformational endeavors are explored, and applications to major enterprise challenges are presented. Strategic Analytics can be the crucial innovation enabler for government, academic, and industry leaders to better integrate our intellectual capacities, considerable strategic planning acumen, diverse analytical capabilities, and bring them all to bear on formidable national defense and international security challenges of our time.

      Greg is a West Point graduate who was a paratroop commander in the 82nd Airborne Division for 8 years, air-ground battle staff officer, joint operations planner, and Army strategist with service in over 20 foreign nations, including 5 operational deployments and 12 named operations. When he retired he was the Army's senior, most experienced Operations Research (OR) officer with assignments spanning land warfare analyses, manpower and personnel, program analysis and evaluation, and logistics. While assistant professor of OR at West Point he helped create a new Department of Systems Engineering where he subsequently served as one of the first associate professors.

      For 12 years after retiring, he served on the research staff at the Institute for Defense Analyses where he advised several foreign governments on their defense reform initiatives and served as senior OR analyst for the multi-national forces command in Iraq. With advanced degrees in engineering, Operations Research, and international security, he is a distinguished graduate of the US Marine Corps Command and Staff College, Army War College graduate, National Defense Fellow at MIT, and holds a certificate in political philosophy from Oxford. Dr. Parlier is a past president of the Military Applications Society of INFORMS, vice president for the Military Operations Research Society, program chain for the annual series of International Conferences on Operations Research and Enterprise Systems, and recently served as advisor to the Under Secretary of the Army.


      richard-demillo.jpg

      J. Sukarno Mertoguno, Ph.D 

      Faculty of the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy and the director for Cyber Systems Analysis, Formulation and Automation labs (CSAFA). His research covers broad area of computing systems and cybersecurity. He previously served as Chief Innovation Officer for the Information and Cyber Science Directorate (ICSD) of Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and as Deputy Director for Institute for Information Security & Privacy (IISP), Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT).

      He brought in innovative concepts and practical solutions. Before joining GTRI, he managed basic and applied science research in cyber security and complex software for The Office of Naval Research (ONR) where he developed several novel concepts, such as BFT++, Learn2Reason, CryptoFactory, NoiseFactory, and bottom-up formal methods, etc and initiated many innovative programs such as RHIMES and TPCP.

      Prior to ONR, he was a system & chip architect and an entrepreneur in San Francisco Bay Area, where he worked on various chips and systems, such as embedded processors, switching fabric, network processors, and various other hardware accelerators, including TCP/IP, NFS, mobile anti-malware, etc. He received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from SUNY-Binghamton. He attended two different universities for two different degreessimultaneously, and graduated with a degree in electrical engineeringfrom Trisakti University and a degree in theoretical physics from The University of Indonesia.


      Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Lowrance

      Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Lowrance is a graduate student at the US Army War College (AWC). He received his commission as a Distinguished Military Graduate and Signal Officer from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in 2000. Prior to the War College, he was assigned at the Army Artificial Intelligence Integration Center (AI2C), where he served as the Chief Autonomous Systems Engineer leading modernization projects at the intersection of AI, autonomy, and robotics. Preceding the AI2C, he served as an Associate Professor and Deputy Program Director of Electrical Engineering at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Throughout his career, LTC Lowrance has served in multiple leadership positions as a Signal Officer and Network Systems Engineer. LTC Lowrance holds a Doctorate degree from the University of Louisville in Computer Science and Engineering, a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from George Washington University, and a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from VMI.

      Dr. C. Anthony Pfaff

      Dr. C. Anthony Pfaff is the Research Professor for the Military Profession and Ethic at the U.S. Army War Colleges Strategic Studies Institute. A retired Army colonel, Dr. Pfaff recently served as Director for Iraq on the National Security Council Staff. While on active duty, he served on the Policy Planning Staff at the State Department, as the Defense Attaché in Baghdad, the Chief of International Military Affairs for US Army Central Command, and as the Defense Attaché in Kuwait. He served twice in Operation iraqi freedom once as the Deputy J2 for a Joint Special Operations Task Force and as the Senior Military Advisor for the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team. He also served as the Senior Intelligence Officer on the Iraq Intelligence Task Force and as a UN observer along the Iraq-Kuwait border. Dr. Pfaff has a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Economics from Washington and Lee University, a master’s degree in Philosophy from Stanford University; a master’s in National Resource Management from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces; and a Doctorate in Philosophy from Georgetown University.

      Gaining the Advantage for the Military in Artificial Intelligence through Education and Training

      With the resurgence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and a return to great-power competition, the United States (U.S.) military is looking to gain competitive advantage by integrating the technology into a series of warfighting applications. Of course, the U.S.’s strongest competitors – China and Russia – are aiming to do the same. The challenge for the United States is that its near-peer adversaries likely have access to similar state-of-the-art AI algorithms. Thus, the U.S. must look at ways of employing the technology better than its adversaries in battle. This competitive edge will only be achieved by the U.S. military through its people who are skilled in the deployment and maintenance of AI-enabled systems, and it will take a partnership with academia and industry to ensure the Department of Defense puts the right education and training pipelines in place to achieve this objective.

      The education and training of the military’s service members in AI will be critical given the dependence of AI algorithms on learning from data examples and the fact that it takes skilled people to update AI-enabled systems to new data and changes after deployment. The battlefield is a dynamic environment where the types of threats, tactics, and operating conditions can change rapidly. Hence, a key to maintaining advantage will be how quickly the U.S. military can exploit the collection of new operational data to improve performance and quickly adapt their AI-enabled systems during deployment to changes that will inevitably occur. Failure to retrain AI systems after fielding will result in performance degradation and system errors as the operating environment and new inputs to the AI models drift from the examples in which they were originally trained. Therefore, the speed at which the U.S. military can retrain and update its AI platforms during current operations to adapt to such changes will be a key factor in gaining the competitive advantage and making sure its AI is the best on the battlefield. To achieve this objective, it will take skilled service members who are experts in executing the software update cycle of AI systems. That will involve service members continuously building, testing, and deploying new updates to their AI-enabled platforms to keep them performing as optimal as possible.

      Unfortunately, the Department of Defense does not have enough in-house capability to either perform the necessary education, training, and certification of its service members to perform these critical tasks or, in some cases, operate certain AI-driven systems. Thus, the way forward, even if it is only an interim stage, is for DOD to partner with academia and industry. Unfortunately, there exist cultural and regulatory barriers to this partnership. This presentation will discuss the technological challenge to illustrate where partnering with industry and academia would be most productive and offer suggestions on overcoming barriers to that partnership.

    • Moderator

      Mr. Steven Weldon, Director Cyber Institute, School of Computers & Cyber Sciences, Augusta University

      Steven G. Weldon is a native of Hahira, Georgia. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in January 1983 as a Cryptologic Technician Interpretive. After attending the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA, he completed tours in Spain and Turkey.  He then completed the Navy ROTC Program and graduated from the George Washington University in Washington, DC in June 1990.

      Upon commissioning, Steve completed tours in Japan and Bahrain. He then attended the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA graduating in 1997 with a Master of Science degree in Computer Science with a concentration in Computer Security.

      After Monterey, he completed tours in Fort Meade, Maryland, Alice Springs, Australia and Everett, Washington embarked on the USS abraham lincoln (CVN 72). From August 2003 to November 2004, he served as Executive Officer at Naval Security Group Activity Fort Gordon.

      Steve served with the U.S. Army's XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, NC from 2004 – 2006 including a 1-year deployment to Iraq. He then served as the Commanding Officer of Navy Information Operations Command Colorado and on the Seventh Fleet Staff, embarked on the USS blue ridge (LCC 19) homeported in Japan. Steve returned to Augusta in April 2012 as the NSA Georgia Signals Intelligence Director. He retired from the Navy in May 2015.

      Steve joined the faculty of Augusta University’s School of Computer and Cyber Sciences in January 2017. He serves as the Director of the Cyber Institute and as an Instructor. His responsibilities include community outreach in the Central Savannah River Area to K-12 institutions, professional organizations, and Department of Defense and Department of Energy entities. His teaching responsibilities include courses in computer programming and ethics in computer science. Steve also serves as the Faculty Sponsor for the Augusta University Student Chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery.

    Panel 4. Theme: Leveraging Higher Education to Grow Military Strategists

    April 7, 10:00 – 11:15 a.m.

    The U.S. military requires some officers to be educated and developed as “Strategists, Strategic Planners, or Strategic Thinkers.” These officers find themselves (1) leading diverse planning groups and leading strategy development (2) conducting operational and institutional campaign planning, (3) evaluating strategy, plans, and operations while assessing risk, and (4) sometimes advising and working closely with our most senior leaders. Though each service approaches this task differently, the services have typically relied on a mix of civilian and military higher education institutions. This panel will feature three perspectives on the development of military strategists from representatives of three premier programs (1) The Army’s Basic Strategic Art Program (2) The Army’s Goodpaster Scholars Program, and (3) The SecDefs (joint) Strategic Thinkers Program. Panelists will provide an overview of their program and explain the important role that higher education institutions play in developing strategists and the advantages of each approach.

    • Panelists

      Nicholas Murray, D.Phil., FRHistS

      Nicholas teaches and runs wargames for the SecDef's Strategic Thinkers Program at Johns Hopkins as well as being a part of the team which created the program. He has designed and run more than 100 wargames. In addition, he is an active scholar: his most recent books are translations, with commentary, of Clausewitz’s campaign histories covering the revolutionary campaigns in 1799-1800.

      He has also authored numerous articles and essays on military history and PME. He has advised and assisted the Office of the Secretary Defense (OSD) with policy regarding military education and wargaming, and he has received numerous awards including the OSD's highest medal: the Exceptional Public Service Award.


      Colonel francis park in uniform

      Colonel Francis Park, U.S. Army

      Colonel Park is the director of the Basic Strategic Art Program at the U.S. Army War College. After commissioning in 1994 from the ROTC program at Johns Hopkins, his first ten years on active duty were spent primarily in armored cavalry and light airborne cavalry assignments before becoming a strategic plans and policy officer. Since 2004, he has served in operational and institutional planning, strategy, and policy assignments ranging from the division level up to the Joint Staff.

      He is the principal author of the 2014 Army Strategic Planning Guidance, the 2018 National Military Strategy, and Joint Doctrine Note 2-19, Strategy. His other experience includes assignments at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, the U.S. Army Center of Military History, and the Joint History Office. Colonel Park holds a master’s degree from the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Kansas.


      robert-davies.jpg

      Robert Davis

      Robert Davis is the Associate Dean of Academics at the Command and General Staff School.  He previously served as the Director of the Goodpaster Scholars (Advanced Strategic Planning and Policy Program) and taught at the School of Advanced Military Studies. He holds a Ph.D. in Modern European History from Ohio University. Robert was a Fulbright Scholar in Oslo, Norway. His publications include The Challenge of Adaptation: The U.S. Army in the Aftermath of Conflict, 1953-2000 (2008), The Military and the Media (2009), U.S. Foreign Policy and National Security, 2 vols. (2010), “NATO, Western Europe, and the Eisenhower Administration,” in A Companion to Dwight D. Eisenhower (2017), and “Cold War Infamy: NATO exercise Carte Blanche,” in Military Exercises: Political Messaging and Strategic Impact (2018). 

    • Moderator

      Ken Gleiman, Ph.D.

      U.S. Army (Retired)
      President, Army Strategist Association
      Author of Operational Art and the Clash of Cultures: Postmortem on Speical Operations as a Seventh Warfighting Function, (2012), ISBN 149330981, ISBN12: 9781479330980.

      Ken is President of the Army Strategist Association, Vice President of Inspirata Consulting - a company that evaluates programs and strategy for the U.S. Government, and teaches at Georgetown University. Ken is a retired Army Colonel who served as a Special Forces officer and Army Strategist for 27 years.

      He received his Ph.D. from Kansas State University through the Army’s Goodpaster Scholars Program and is also a graduate of the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS), Georgetown University's School of Public Policy, and the Army’s Art of War program. He has served in multiple combat zones and at the Pentagon and Combatant Command Level assignments.

    Individual Presentations

    Selected participants who submitted abstracts who are not on a panel will make 10-to-15-minute presentation during the afternoon of April 7th following lunch (see schedule tab). Presenters, topics, and brief abstracts will appear here as details are announced.

    • An Overview of Emerging Military Technologies: A U.S. Coast Guard Cadet Panel Presentation

      Abstract: The Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report #R46458, Emerging Military Technologies: Background and Issues for Congress, updated and published on November 10, 2021, presented group research opportunities for the United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) cadets currently enrolled in a spring course, Information Technology in Organizations. This report comparatively addresses the development efforts among the United States, China and Russia, including related congressional focal needs and issues, for six (6) selected emerging military technologies: artificial intelligence, biotechnology, directed energy weapons, hypersonic weapons, lethal autonomous weapons, and quantum technology. It is essential to engage cadets in learning about emerging military technologies, especially when considering United States Coast Guard (USCG) missions. Six groups of cadets are individually assigned to each of the emerging military technologies. Group research will establish emerging military technologies’ use or considerations in support of one or more of 5 of the 11 USCG missions codified in the Homeland Security Act of 2002.

      • Ports, Waterways & Coastal Security
      • Drug Interdiction
      • Migrant Interdiction
      • Defense Readiness (National Security & Military Preparedness)
      • Law Enforcement (including Prohibition Enforcement History)

      The panel will share an overview of the groups’ research.


      Moderator

      Angela G. Jackson

      Angela G. Jackson-Summers is an Assistant Professor of Information Systems in the Management Department at the U. S. Coast Guard Academy. She received her Ph.D. in Business Administration (Information Systems) from Kennesaw State University. Her research interests include IT/IS risk management, and data/information security and assurance.


      Cadet Panelists

      1/c Abby Nitz

      1/c Abby Nitz, a Management major from Sterling, Illinois, currently serves as the President of the Glee Club and Fairwinds singing ensembles, Lead in the Cadet Musical, and the Writer for the Need-to-Know Newsletter.  1/c Nitz previously served as the Fall Semester Logistics Department Head.

      1/c Erin Wood

      1/c Erin Wood, a Management major from Douglasville, Georgia, has been recognized as a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta National Honor Society, and serves as a member and Captain of the Women’s Rowing Team, and the Secretary of the Equestrian Club.  1/c Wood is also a member of the Sustainability Club, Cadets Against Sexual Assault, Aviation Club, Adventure Sports Club, and the Women’s Leadership Council.

      2/c Chase Jin

      2/c Chase Jin, a Cyber Systems major from Fullerton, California, has been recognized on the Dean’s list, and as an All-American Pistol athlete.  2/c Jin currently serves as a member of the USCGA Cyber Team and Asian Pacific American Club.

      2/c Michael Dankworth

      2/c Michael Dankworth, a Cyber Systems major from Scottsdale, Arizona, has been inducted into the Alpha Lambda Delta National Honor Society, and recognized on the Dean’s List and Commandant of Cadet’s List.  2/c Dankworth serves as Community Service/Institutional Service Master at Arms for Spring Semester 2022.  He previously served as the Waterfront Phase 1 Safety Officer for Swab Summer 2021.

      2/c Branyelle Carillo

      2/c Branyelle Carillo is a Cyber Systems major from Harford County, Maryland.

      1/c Nick Epstein

      1/c Nick Epstein is a Cyber Systems major from Columbia, Maryland.

       

    • National Security and the Historian’s Ethos

      Anthony Eames

      Anthony Eames is the Director of Scholarly Initiatives at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, where he oversees the development of academic alliances and is responsible for fellowships and programs to support scholarship on the Reagan presidency, legacy, and era. He holds a Ph.D. in history from Georgetown University and an M.A. jointly conferred from King’s College London and Georgetown University. He has spoken and published widely on nuclear and national security issues, including for The Journal of Military History, Technology & Culture, and War on the Rocks. His forthcoming book, A Voice in Their Own Destiny, addresses the Reagan administration’s revolution of U.S. public diplomacy. In addition to his work at the Institute, Anthony teaches for George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs.

      Dr. Eames will speak on national security and the historian’s ethos:

      In a recent essay for National Review, General H.R. McMaster issued a call to all Americans to preserve the warrior ethos. The warrior ethos, as McMaster understands it, has been a historical constant since the days of Achilles. American’s social, political, and moral values, however, are more dynamic than ever before. The dissonance between these two phenomena erodes the will of American soldiers to fight and win wars, and exacerbates the physical and psychological trauma of war. McMaster identifies the study of history as the anecdote, specifically military and diplomatic history that stresses individual agency in the tradition of the great man theory of history.

      However, General McMaster’s recommendations for preserving the warriors ethos are untenable because he fails to understand the historian’s ethos. McMaster would do well to recall the work of one of his favorite historians, Marc Bloch. Bloch wrote his masterpiece, The Historian’s Craft, while serving in the French resistance in the Second World War. In his work, Bloch made the case to “preserve the broadest interpretation of history.” The form of history that Bloch advocated for—the Annales school--stressed perspectives from ordinary people. This understanding of history underwrote Bloch’s profound sense of duty to fight for France in both World War I and World War II.

      Bloch’s belief in studying the perspectives of those dispossessed of power and writing history based on the widest variety of evidence laid the foreground for the New Left’s writing of history from the bottom up and the socio-cultural-environmental turn among professional historians that McMaster holds responsible for sewing the divisions in American society that undermines soldiers of the will to fight. But one must ask if these now paradigmatic features of the historian’s ethos are really an anathema to national security. Should historians distort their craft to preserve the warrior’s ethos? This paper argues that the U.S. military and defense community should embrace the historian’s ethos to better craft national security priorities reflective of the whole of American society.

      Historians, however, are equally responsible for problems befalling civil-military relations. In their rush to criticize American power, academic historians stopped speaking truth to power, preferring instead to withdraw from the public sphere deeper and deeper into the fetishes of their field. The misdrawn conception that dialogue with American military and national security community amounts to complicity in military interventions has amounted to what Frank Gavin and Hal Brands termed the “slow-motion suicide” of the historical profession. This paper further delineates the ways in which the historians can develop mutually advantageous partnerships with the national security community that benefit American society and revive their profession.

    • The Need to Prepare Strategic Leaders for the State Security Sector as an Important Mission of the Country's Higher Education System
      Lieutenant Colonel Ioseb japaridze

      Lieutenant Colonel Ioseb Japaridze

      Lieutenant Colonel Ioseb Japaridze is Head of Postgraduate Degree Programs at David Aghmashenebeli National Defence Academy (NDA) of Georgia. Prior to his current assignment during his military career he served 1n the following key positions: Head of Management Faculty at NDA; Senior Instructor of the leadership and management department national Command and Staff College; Head of Personnel Readiness Status Analysis Section in J1 Personnel Department, General Staff; Head of Personnel Management Systems Development Section, J1 Personnel Department, General Staff.

      Key Educational Achievements

      2022 - Doctor of Social Science - Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, The Faculty of Social and Political Science, Conflict Management and Analysis Ph.D. Program

      2006 – Master of Law, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (Meskheti Branch), the Faculty of Law, Meskheti Branch, Georgia

      2019 – Master of Military Art and Science, Strategic Studies Program, Fort Leavenworth, the US Army Command and General Staff College.

      Abstract: Over the past three decades, significant geopolitical processes developed around the world and in the Caucasus region, which has radically transformed Georgia's current national security environment. Particularly painful for Georgia was the large-scale armed aggression by the Russian Federation against the country in 2008, which resulted in the occupation of more than twenty percent of Georgian territories. Russia's hybrid war strategy against Georgia, which combines the growing militarization of Russian forces, support for separatist regimes, support to the frozen conflicts, creeping occupation of territories, cyber-attacks, use of aggressive diplomatic, economic, and information instruments of national power significantly deteriorated national security environment of Georgia.

      Full integration to North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a priority national interest of the country because Georgia is forced to pursue a policy of balance of power against the Russian Federation to balance the future major threats to its sovereignty and statehood. On the other hand, Russia sees NATO’s expansion to the east as a sharp step towards its national security and seeks to veto the North Atlantic Alliance's future decision and free choice of sovereign states by establishing red lines along its borders. By intensively using elements of a hybrid war against Armenia-Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine, Russia seeks to maintain and strengthen its national security interests and does not avoid taking political steps that threaten not only the security architecture of Ukraine and Europe but of the world as a whole.

      It is impossible to ensure the country's economic development and peaceful environment without strong state institutions responsible for security, especially in the complex and complicated environment full of challenges in which Georgia is currently. The current geopolitical processes not only in Georgia but also in the world require constant study, research, and analysis, and in this situation, a special role is played by the country's higher education system, which should provide qualified personnel to state institutions responsible for national security.

      At the present stage, the most important and high-level higher education product related to national security in Georgia is offered to the public by the Ministry of Defense of Georgia. In particular, the Davit Agmashenebeli Georgian National Defense Academy, which with its new master's programs, the establishment of a strong research center, and a modern teaching strategy, is the undisputed leader in the educational space of Georgia. The Georgian National Defense Academy established new unique master programs in Defense Analysis, Security Studies and National Resource Management to prepare strategic planning specialists, strategic thinkers, defense and security specialists, and researchers not only for the Ministry of Defence but also for state institutions responsible for providing the country's security sector and national security with state resources.

      The purpose of this article is to introduce the participants of the symposium the need to prepare strategic leaders for the state security sector as an important mission of the country's high education system; and highlight new postgraduate degree programs developed by the National Defense Academy, their importance, goals, and objectives, aimed to play a significant role in strengthening the national security of the country.

    • Higher Education and National Security in USA

      Natali Gvalia

      Natali was born on December 19, 2002, in Senaki, Georgia. Her parents are Nino and Dato Gvalia, and I have three siblings, Petre, David, and Helen. In 2008, she attended Gr. Kobakhidze public school in Tbilisi and received an academic achievement award – Golden medal. She has volunteered at workshops, marathons, and wrestling tournaments. After 12th grade she passed national exams, and enrolled in the National Defence Academy in Gori where she successfully completed the basic combat training course and became a 1st course Junker performing well both physically and academically. She is now in her second year of studies and hopes to work as an officer in the near future.

      Abstract:

      The USA is an enormous and diverse country, however, it’s not tapping into the capability of all its human capital via making sure educational possibility for all young humans with aptitudes for the sciences or language skills needed for national security. There is a great number of proficient children with untold capability languishing in substandard schools in poor communities. That is why their military branches have issues enlisting sufficient academically certified recruits.

      USA's national security is depend on the ability to properly train and retain the next generation of Americans to safeguard their national security. They need a better system of ensuring universal access to quality public education that doesn’t require great family wealth or financially crippling college loan debt. Congress, the President, and policymakers must do more than recognize the changing nature of national security threats. They must meet these threats by ensuring a high-quality education system that is affordable and accessible to all Americans.

      Higher education increases the potential for people to perform as citizens. Some would say that the most destructive force in America today is public opinion. Without higher education, the situation would be vastly worse. Nurturing critical thinking is a key component of any college or university education.  At this point, creating an educated citizenry may be the weakest link in the contribution of American higher education to national security, but they need to educate individuals about the world and teach them to think critically about important issues which are affecting our future.

      Retired Adm. William McRaven, a former US Navy SEAL commander and head of US Special Operations Command, said he was "the biggest fan" of the younger generation of Americans and that education in grade school played a broader role in national security. “It was because I recognized that unless we are giving opportunity and quality education to the young men and women in the United States, then we won't have the right people to be able to make the right decisions about our national security," McRaven said. "They won't have an understanding of different cultures. They won't have an understanding of different ideas. They won't be critical thinkers."

      Americans will never forget the coordinated terrorist attacks on the country's financial center in New York, its global military headquarters at the Pentagon, and its civilian air transportation system on September 11, 2001. The 20 years of military operations and other efforts in response to the 9/11 attacks and other terrorist threats, including the Islamic State group, diverted time, resources, and attention away from other efforts needed to protect and strengthen the US. New transnational challenges emerging in the international system, such as pandemics and cybersecurity, and state competitors such as China and Russia took more assertive stances in the global arena. The global landscape shifted as America focused on the fight against terrorist networks. However, these more positive outcomes came at a high strategic, material, and human cost, including the emergence of a number of conflicts and foreign policy crises that will not be resolved anytime soon. Large, undereducated portions of the population damage the ability of the United States to physically defend itself, protect its secure information, conduct diplomacy, and grow its economy.  In conclusion, human capital will determine power in the current century, and the failure to produce that capital will undermine America's security.

    • Encouraging Dual-Enrolled Students to Enroll in Corps of Cadets at Senior Military Colleges: Barriers and Opportunities
      Imani Cabell

      Imani Cabell

      Imani is the Assistant Director of Dual Enrollment at UNG and a doctoral student in the UNG Higher Education Leadership and Practice EdD program. Imani’s passion centers on eliminating student barriers to a college education and promoting impactful student programs. Her experience working with a variety of students from different high schools and walks of life has enhanced my understanding of program specifications and potential barriers that may impact student success. As a doctoral student, Imani’s knowledge and support for student achievement have been enhanced through research on specialized student populations and alternative college admission opportunities. Through her years of working in higher education, Imani is still excited by the opportunity to help students dream, value their education, and progress towards a successful future. 

      Katherine Adams

      Katherine Adams, PH.D. 

      Katherine is an Assistant Professor and the program coordinator for the Higher Education Leadership & Practice doctoral program at the University of North Georgia. Katherine teaches coursework on higher education leadership theory, qualitative research, student affairs administration, and law and ethics in higher education. Katherine's research interests are in the areas of boundary spanning, community engagement, higher education trends, university-community partnerships, collegiate leadership, and research communication. Katherine received her Ph.D. in Adult Education, where her focus was on the roles, characteristics, and motivations of community leaders/boundary spanners within university-community partnerships. She also obtained a M.Ed. in Human Resources/Occupational Development, a Masters Certificate in Interdisciplinary Qualitative Research, and a B.S. in Psychology all from The University of Georgia. Katherine is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship.

      Abstract:

      Enrollments at U.S. colleges and universities have fallen for ten consecutive years and the impacts of COVID-19 have only exacerbated the issue of recruiting and retaining students. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, continued enrollment losses in the pandemic represent “a total two-year decline of 5.1 percent or 938,000 students” (National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, 2022). As Generation Z has begun to reveal a hesitancy over the “costs” of higher education (Loveland, 2017), may yield a significant decline over the coming decades, leading to even tighter competition for students. The forecasting of the enrollment cliff of higher education can quickly turn into a significant state of fiscal crisis, as seen within the consolidations and mergers of the past decade (Martin & Samels, 2017). To combat the prediction of tighter resources, declined enrollment, and changes generational perspectives, once again now is the time to seek recruitment efforts towards new or untapped applicant populations.

      Consistently since 2016, dual enrollment has experienced rapid growth in providing high school students with collegiate access and dual high school and college course credits, contrasting the current declining enrollment of traditional-aged students (Pretlow et al., 2021). Dual enrollment is defined broadly as a high school student’s participation in college-level courses for the purpose of earning college credits while still enrolled in high school (Waits et al., 2005). Since inception in the United States in 1955, dual enrollment has gained recognition as a promising approach to enhance educational opportunities, increase the affordability of college, and bridge the transition between high school and college (Karp et al. 2007). Through utilizing the growth of one accelerating population, this presentation will seek to reassess the role of dual enrollment and participation in alignment with the Corps of Cadets.


      This presentation will address barriers to participation of dual enrolled students in the Corps of Cadets with the purpose of combatting those issues and creating innovative solutions to increase participation. We will briefly discuss the recent (2017+) history of dual enrollment and cadets within one case institution. From these experiences, suggestions for senior military colleges to utilize unique recruitment efforts, application supports, and advising practices will be presented. This presentation will commence with practical solutions to create greater opportunities for student participation through marketing the attractiveness of both programs to this unique population.

    Recordings & Proceedings

    Symposium Recordings

    Day 1
    Time Length Description
    08:54 Symposium introduction by Keith Antonia and opening remarks by Dr. Bonita Jacobs, President, University of North Georgia. Watch Welcome and Opening Remarks: Dr. Bonita Jacobs
    13:30 Speaker General Bob Brown, U.S. Army (Retired), President and CEO, Association of the United States Army on “What is the current relationship between higher education and the military in the United States?  What is the future of that relationship?." Watch Keynote Address: General Brown
    1:05:10 Panel on “How higher education fills the security gap in the post-Cold War era." Watch Panel 1 Theme: How higher education fills the security gap in the post-Cold War era
    48:23 Speaker Colonel Larry M. Wortzel, Ph.D., U.S. Army (Retired) on “China and the US: Competing Interest and Strategies in the Asia-Pacific Region." Watch Keynote Address: Colonel Wortzel 
    1:24:41 Panel on “Rethinking Higher Education Practices to Stimulate Innovation and Global Security." Watch Panel 2 Theme: Rethinking Higher Education Practices to Stimulate Innovation and Global Security
    52:50 Speaker Margaret Kosal, Ph.D. on “National Security, Emerging Technologies, and Higher Education. Watch Keynote Address: Margaret Kosal, Ph.D. 
    1:23:21 Panel on “Science, Technology, and Strategic Analytics." Watch Panel 3 Theme: Science, Technology, and Strategic Analytics 
    Day 2
    Time Length Description
    50:09 Speaker Major General (Retired) Mick Ryan on “Military, Academia and History – a Vital 21st Century Trinity." Watch Keynote Address: Major General Mick Ryan
    1:18:16 Panel on “Leveraging Higher Education to Grow Military Strategists." Watch Panel 4 Leveraging Higher Education to Grow Military Strategists
    24:06 Speaker Dr. Anthony Eames on “National Security and the Historian’s Ethos." Watch Individual Presentations: Dr. Anthony Eames
    18:52 Speakers Imani Cabell and Katherine Rose Adams, Ph.D. on “Encouraging Dual-enrolled Students to Enroll in Corps of Cadets at Senior Military Colleges: Barriers and Opportunities." Watch Individual Presentations: Imani Cabell and Katherine Rose Adams
    14:41 Speaker Cadet Natali Gvalia, on “Higher Education and National Security in the USA." Watch Individual Presenations: Cadet Natali Gvalia
    33:24 Individual presentations by a U.S. Coast Guard Cadet Panel: “An Overview of Emerging Technologies: A U.S. Coast Guard Cadet Panel." Watch An Overview of Emerging Technologies A U S Coast Guard Cadet Panel
    3:53 Watch Closing Remarks
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