Search UT

The Spring 2013 Honors Program symposia series will kick off on Tuesday, Feb. 5, with a presentation by David Staats, managing director of G. William Miller & Co., on “Contemporary Afghanistan, U.S. Policy Involvement.” Staats’ talk begins at 4 p.m. in Reeves Theater in the Vaughn Center on the UT campus.

During the presentation, Staats will discuss U.S. policy involvement and discuss the impact of that policy involvement on Afghan society and institutions, as well as its future implications.

Staats began his career at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Munich, Germany, managing the Muslim broadcasting department. He then served in the U.S. Department of Defense in Istanbul and West Berlin, as well as in the U.S. Department of State in Peshawar, Pakistan. He joined G. William Miller & Co., a Washington, D.C.-based private merchant bank, in 1995.

Other guest speakers in the series include Hans Peter Manz, ambassador of Austria to the U.S., who will speak on “Globalization and International Cooperation” on Wednesday, Feb. 27, at 1 p.m. in the Vaughn Center Crescent Room. On March 7, Allan Papp, a career diplomat with the U.S. Department of State, will present “Democracy: A Universally Good Thing” at 4 p.m. in Reeves Theater.

All lectures are free, open to the public and held on the UT campus. For a full schedule, see below:

• Tuesday, Feb. 5: “Contemporary Afghanistan, U.S. Policy Involvement,” David Staats, managing director of G. William Miller & Co., Reeves Theater, 4 p.m.
• Monday, Feb. 11: “Crowdsourcing Knowledge Creation,” Natasha Veltri, associate professor of information and technology management, and Michael Weeks, associate professor of management and senior associate director of the TECO Center for Leadership, Reeves Theater, 4 p.m.
• Tuesday, Feb. 19: “Revolutionary Thinking in the 21st Century Drug Policy,” David Krahl, visiting assistant professor of criminology and criminal justice, Macdonald-Kelce Library AV2, 4 p.m.
• Wednesday, Feb. 27: “Globalization and International Cooperation,” Hans Peter Manz, ambassador of Austria, Vaughn Center Crescent Club, 1 p.m.
• Tuesday, March 5: “Florida Soul,” John Capouya, assistant professor of journalism, Reeves Theater, 4 p.m.
• Thursday, March 7: “Democracy: A Universally Good Thing,” Allan Papp, career diplomat with the U.S. Department of State, Reeves Theater, 4 p.m.
• Thursday, March 21: “A Brief History of Reality TV,” Paul Hillier, assistant professor of journalism, Macdonald-Kelce Library AV2, 4 p.m.
• Monday, March 25: “The Search for New Pharmaceuticals from the Deep,” Glenroy Martin, assistant professor of chemistry, Macdonald-Kelce Library AV2, 4 p.m.
• Wednesday, April 10: “America: Has Been or Will Be?,” Vikas Jain, assistant professor of information and technology management, with UT honor students, Vaughn Center Board Room, 4:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 16: “The Messiest of Motivations: ‘Love’ in Fiction,” Audrey Colombe, associate professor of English, with UT honors student Madeline Townsend, Macdonald-Kelce Library AV2, 4 p.m.
• Monday, April 22: Honors Undergraduate Research Fellows Presentations and Respondez! Release Party, Vaughn Center Board Room, 4–6 p.m.
• Wednesday, April 24: “The Parody Projects,” Elizabeth Winston, professor of English, with UT honors students, Macdonald-Kelce Library AV2, 4 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 30: “Disciplinary Controversies within UT Majors,” David Reamer, assistant professor of English, with UT honors students, Reeves Theater, 4 p.m.

Please note that dates and locations are subject to change. For more information, contact the Honors Program at (813) 257-3545 or honors@ut.edu.