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George W. Bush to speak at LIU

By Ari Fuller

Contributing Writer

Former U.S. president George W. Bush will speak on campus on Thursday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. in the Tilles Center as a part of the ongoing “Conversation with a Congressman” series. The event is hosted by former congressman Steve Israel, who is head of the LIU Post Global Institute. President Bush will give a lecture on “the challenges facing our nation in the 21st century and the power of freedom,” according to the Tilles Center website.

Last year, the Global Institute brought former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Joe Biden, and General David Petraeus to speak on campus. Danielle Oglesby, the Chief Operating Officer of the Global Institute, said the events had “very large student turnout.”

Dr. Amy Freedman, former chairperson of the department of political science and international studies, described the Global Institute as a welcome addition to LIU Post.

“The Institute certainly brings more recognition, prominence and awareness to LIU,” she said.

Freedman also detailed the benefits of the Global Institute that are directly felt by the students.

“Bringing these well-known, powerful people to speak on campus definitely engages students and opens their minds, I think,” Freedman said. “I hope it makes them look beyond just the borders of the United States.”

The Global Institute, housed off campus at University Center, was founded in January 2017 by former Congressman Steve Israel. The institute hosted United Arab Emirates Consul General to New York, Majid Al-Suwaidi, for an “Executive Breakfast” on Wednesday, Sept. 5. Congressman Tom Suozzi of New York’s third district, which includes parts of Long Island and was once represented by Israel, will speak on Monday, Sept. 17 in another “Executive Breakfast.”

Spaces at the Executive Breakfasts are reserved for paying members of the Global Institute and their guests. LIU faculty may receive open invitations as space allows. The cost of an individual Global Institute membership ranges from $1,000 for the most basic package to $100,000 for a deluxe corporate sponsorship package.

The Global Institute will also host its second annual State of Anti-Semitism conference on Thursday, Oct. 4. The keynote speaker will be Timothy Snyder, author of “On Tyranny.”

The inaugural conference, held last year, featured leading Holocaust scholar Dr. Deborah Lipstadt of Emory University, Israeli Consul General in New York Dani Dayan, LIU Post Campus Rabbi Yaakov Gruenstein, and former Congressman Steve Israel. Just as with the Executive Breakfasts, members of the Global Institute receive priority access over any LIU students or faculty to the conference this fall.

LIU students can purchase $15 tickets for the Bush event from the Tilles Center Box Office. Tickets will also be distributed free of charge to various LIU faculty and departments, from whom students may be able to receive free tickets.

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