NPR counterterrorism correspondent to speak Feb. 4

Dina Temple-RastonWestern Michigan University is again partnering with the World Affairs Council of Western Michigan in Grand Rapids to present a timely talk on international issues in conjunction with the council's 2013 "Great Decisions Foreign Policy Lecture Series."

Locally, WMU will be offering one live lecture by NPR correspondent Dina Temple-Raston at 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 4 on its campus in the Fetzer Center's Putney Auditorium. Her talk, “The New Threat Assessment: Defending America on a Budget,” will address the country’s new and emerging challenges in dealing with terrorism and counterinsurgency. The event is open to the public free of charge.

Temple-Raston is a Belgian-born American journalist and award-winning author, well known for her 2001 book, “A Death in Texas,” and for her work as a White House correspondent for Bloomberg News during President Bill Clinton's two terms. She joined the NPR staff in March 2007 and reports on counterterrorism at home and abroad for NPR News.

For 2013, the "Great Decisions Foreign Policy Discussion Series" offered by the World Affairs Council of Western Michigan will feature eight talks in Grand Rapids. "Great Decisions" is one of the largest foreign policy lecture series in the nation and the state's only lecture series devoted to American foreign policy issues.

Great Decisions Foreign Policy Discussion Series

The council's Grand Rapids programs, which carry an admission fee, will be held in the Performing Arts Center at Aquinas College, near the corner of Plymouth and Robinson Road. They will take place from 6 to 7:15 p.m. over eight consecutive Mondays from Feb. 4 through March 25. The cost per lecture at Aquinas is $10 for World Affairs Council members and $15 for others. Faculty, students and staff of the council’s educational partners, including WMU, may attend free of charge by showing their WMU ID at the door. Package-ticket deals are available for members and nonmembers, and there is free parking close to the Performing Arts Center. Visit the council's website for a comprehensive schedule.

For more information about WMU's "Great Decisions" lectures, contact Dr. Michelle Metro-Roland in the Haenicke Institute for Global Education at michelle.metro-roland@wmich.edu or (269) 387-5890.