Leon Panetta and Chuck Hagel, former U.S. Defense secretaries, to join May 11 conversation at UChicago

Editor's note: The 2022 Hagel Lecture has been postponed. A rescheduled date this fall will be announced in the coming months.

The Chicago Project on Security and Threats (CPOST) will host a conversation with Leon E. Panetta and Chuck Hagel, former U.S. Defense secretaries, on May 11 at the University of Chicago.

Prof. Robert Pape, director of CPOST, will moderate a wide-ranging discussion on topics ranging from Ukraine to the future of the liberal order to the prospects for foreign policy. Beginning 5:30 p.m. in Mandel Hall, the event is the latest in the Hagel Lecture Series on Civil Politics and International Security. It is free and open to the public.

“In what can only be described as tumultuous and radically polarized times, there is a hunger for trying to understand the big picture. Secretary Panetta and Secretary Hagel have a lifetime of doing exactly that,” said Pape, a renowned scholar of international security affairs. “The informal nature and intimate setting of the event offers the audience a front-row seat into the working of governments and international relations.”

Panetta served in the Obama administration as director of the CIA, where he ran the operation that killed Osama bin Laden. As Secretary of Defense from 2011 to 2013, he led the effort to develop a new defense strategy, and opened up opportunities for everyone to serve in the military—including through the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

As Secretary of Defense from 2013 to 2015, Hagel directed steps to modernize America’s partnerships and alliances; promote rebalance in the Asia-Pacific region; bolster support for European allies; and advance defense cooperation in the Middle East.

The Hagel Lecture Series was established in 2019 in collaboration with Hagel, CPOST and the University of Chicago. It aims to promote open and informed debate on current foreign policy and national security challenges facing the United States.

Early registration for the event is encouraged at this website. Learn more at the CPOST website.