Symposium focuses on higher ed impact on security

The University of North Georgia (UNG) Institute for Leadership and Strategic Studies (ILSS), College of Education, and strategic and security studies degree program will host the annual ILSS Symposium April 6-7 at the Convocation Center on UNG's Dahlonega Campus with a focus on the role which higher education serves to strengthen U.S. national security.

"In this sense, the civilian population plays a major role in supporting and promoting higher education institutions by encouraging the enrollment of students to pursue studies in a variety of disciplines," Dr. Edward Mienie, executive director of the strategic and security studies program and partnerships and associate professor, said. "Higher education plays a crucial role in assuring that national security is protected and strengthened against a multiplicity of adversarial nation-state and non-state actors."

"Given what's going on in world events today, this symposium is very apropos," retired Lt. Col. Keith Antonia, Ed.D. UNG associate vice president for military programs, said.

Guest speakers include:

• Retired Army Gen. Robert Brooks Brown, president and CEO of the Association of the United States Army.
• Larry Wortzel, a retired Army colonel and Senior Fellow in Asian Security at the American Foreign Policy Council.
• Margaret Kosal, professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Institute of Technology.
• Retired Australian Army Maj. Gen. Mick Ryan, author of "War Transformed"
• Federal Bureau of Investigation national security analysts.

Panelists include U.S. Coast Guard Academy cadets, UNG Political Science and International Affairs faculty, and representatives from three other senior military colleges.

Other partners include the Association of the United States Army, Army Strategist Association, Atlanta Council on International Relations, and Army War College Strategic Studies Institute.

Registration is now open.