PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] - Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations and former director of policy and planning at the U.S. Department of State, will deliver the 79th Stephen A. Odgen Jr. '60 Lecture on International Affairs at Brown University on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 6 p.m. at the Salomon Center for Teaching, Room 101.

The event is free and open to the public.

Haass' lecture, titled "Why Does the World Hate Us," will examine the increasingly negative profile of the United States throughout the world. Why is this the case? Does it matter? Haass will discuss the sources of this growing anti-American resentment, calculate its immediate and longer-term costs, and suggest what the United States can and should do about it.

Richard Haass

Richard Haass is president of the Council on Foreign Relations, a position he has held since July 2003. The Council is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to being a resource for its members, government officials, business executives, journalists, educators and students, civic and religious leaders, and citizens in order to help them better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries.

Haass is the editor or author of 10 books on American foreign policy. His most recent book, The Opportunity: America's Moment to Alter History's Course, was published in 2005.

Until June 2003, Haass was director of policy planning for the U.S. Department of State, where he was a principal advisor to Secretary of State Colin Powell on a broad range of foreign policy concerns. Confirmed by the U.S. Senate to hold the rank of ambassador, Haass served as U.S. coordinator for policy toward the future of Afghanistan and was the lead government official in support of the Northern Ireland peace process. For his efforts, he received the State Department's Distinguished Honor Award.

Ambassador Haass has extensive additional government experience. From 1989 to 1993, he held the titles of Special Assistant to President George H. W. Bush and Senior Director for Near East and South Asian Affairs on the staff of the National Security Council. In 1991, Haass was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal for his contributions to the development and articulation of U.S. policy during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Previously, he served in various posts in the Departments of State and Defense and was a legislative aide in the U.S. Senate.

Addtionally Haass has held posts at The Brookings Institution, The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and teaching roles at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and Hamilton College. A Rhodes Scholar, Haass holds a bachelor of arts degree from Oberlin College and both the Master and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Oxford University.

Stephen A. Ogden Jr. '60 Memorial Lecture

Since 1965, the Ogden Lectureship has presented the University and its neighboring communities with 78 authoritative and timely addresses about international affairs. The lectureship was established in memory of Stephen A. Ogden Jr., a member of the Brown Class of 1960, who died in 1963 from injuries he suffered in a car accident during his junior year. His family created the series as a tribute to Ogden's interest in advancing international peace and understanding.

Dozens of heads of state, diplomats, and observers of the international scene have participated in the series, including Queen Noor of Jordan, former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, President of Brazil Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell, media mogul Ted Turner, astronaut Sen. John Glenn, and economist Paul Volcker.

The audience will have an opportunity to ask questions following the lecture. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Office of University Events at (401) 863-2474.