The Chicago Project on Security and Threats (CPOST) will host a discussion between former CIA Director William J. Burns and former U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on April 16 at the David Rubenstein Forum. Burns—who left his post on Jan. 20—will offer insights into challenges facing American national security and U.S. foreign policy.
The event, also available virtually, is free and open to the public. Registration is open now.
The conversation is the fourth installment of the annual Hagel lecture series, a forum to amplify and encourage greater civic participation in critical discussions. The discussion between Burns and Hagel will be moderated by UChicago Prof. Robert Pape, CPOST’s director.
“There is an amazing overlap between his experience at the highest levels in foreign policy, international security affairs for our government, and also the issues we are most concerned about,” Pape said. “He is incredibly well positioned to help us understand what's occurring, which, at this point in time, is incredibly valuable.”
Burns served as CIA director from March 2021 to January 2025, previously serving as U.S. deputy secretary of state from 2011 to 2014 and spending 32 years in the U.S. Foreign Service. He was president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace from 2014 to 2021 and ambassador to Jordan from 1998 to 2001, assistant secretary of state for Near East Affairs from 2001 to 2005, ambassador to Russia from 2005 to 2008, and undersecretary of state for Political Affairs from 2008 to 2011. He received three Presidential Distinguished Service Awards and the highest civilian honors from the Pentagon and the U.S. Intelligence Community. He also authored the 2019 book, The Back Channel: A Memoir of American Diplomacy and the Case for Its Renewal.
As Pape notes, because of Burns' very recent experience interacting with foreign leaders—particularly Russian President Vladimir Putin—he brings unparalleled insight into how top leaders think, and whether President Trump's initial approach to foreign policy is going to make the world a safer or more dangerous place.
“We've never seen an administration come in and make so many fundamental changes—to our relationships with our allies, with our enemies, with the different ongoing conflicts and fights and wars that we’re involved in—as the Trump administration has already made in its first three weeks in office,” Pape said.
Previous events in the Hagel Lecture series focused on U.S. foreign policy with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in 2019, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul in 2023, and Former DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson in 2025.
