Former US Ambassadors to Participate in Georgia Southern’s Norman Fries Distinguished Lectureship Series

Four veteran American diplomats brought decades of experience on the world stage to Georgia Southern University as part of the annual Norman Fries Distinguished Lectureship series.

Members of the American Academy of Diplomacy gathered at the Performing Arts Center on the Statesboro Campus for a panel discussion examining global challenges and their connections to Georgia and the Southeast. The event was co-hosted by Georgia Southern’s Honors College and the Office of Research and Economic Development.

The featured speakers, which included American Academy of Diplomacy President Ronald E. Neumann and Ambassadors (ret.) Deborah A. McCarthy, Kathleen Stephens and Philip T. Reeker, drew from careers that have taken them around the globe and placed them at the center of some of the most consequential issues in U.S. foreign policy.

Neumann served as U.S. ambassador to Algeria, Bahrain and Afghanistan. A former Army infantryman who saw action in Vietnam, his years as a senior Foreign Service member inspired his book, “The Other War: Winning and Losing in Afghanistan,” as well as his memoir, “Three Embassies, Four Wars: A Personal Memoir.”

McCarthy is an expert on U.S. foreign and national security policy who represented the United States in senior diplomatic roles in Greece, Lithuania and Nicaragua. She continues to serve the nation as the U.S. lead negotiator to the United Nations Ad Hoc Committee on Cybercrime for the Department of State.

Stephens, president and CEO of the Korea Economic Institute of America, served as U.S. ambassador to Korea. Her career has included assignments in China, the former Yugoslavia, Portugal and Northern Ireland. She also serves as board chair of The Korea Society, a Mansfield Foundation Distinguished Fellow, Pacific Century Institute board chair and vice chair of the board of trustees for The Asia Foundation.

Reeker served as U.S. ambassador to North Macedonia and as acting assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, as well as chargé d’affaires in London. He is chair of the Wilson Center’s Global Europe Program and partner and lead of the Europe and Eurasia practice at Albright Stonebridge Group.

Together, the diplomats offered attendees a rare opportunity to hear directly from individuals who served under both Republican and Democratic administrations and to gain insight into the practical work of diplomacy and its role in advancing U.S. interests around the world.

“This event provided a unique opportunity to learn directly from four individuals who have served the nation at the highest level in locations around the world,” said Honors College Dean Steven Engel, Ph.D. “Their experiences and insights shed light on the role of the United States on the world stage as well as the challenges of our contemporary moment.”

The Norman Fries Distinguished Lectureship series began in 2001 and is funded by an endowment in honor of Norman Fries, founder of Claxton Poultry. During more than 50 years of business, Fries built the company from a one-man operation into one of the largest poultry production plants in the U.S.