News Release

EVENT NEWS / February 19, 2008

Retired Gen. John Abizaid to be Inaugural Speaker at Boise State University's Vox Discipuli Lecture Series

Retired Gen. John Abizaid will be the inaugural speaker at Boise State University’s Vox Discipuli Lecture Series at 7 p.m. April 9 in the Student Union Jordan Ballroom. The event is free and open to the public.

Gen. Abizaid will speak about “Diplomacy, the Military, and the Future of the Middle East.” Gen. Abizaid will explain the military’s efforts and the cultural differences in the Middle East, as well as how a new style of warfare fought by a new type of military is changing the nature of the war.

Gen. Abizaid retired from the U.S. Army after 34 years of service, during which he rose from an infantry platoon leader to become the youngest four-star general in the Army and the longest-serving commander of United States Command Central. He studied and often served in the Middle East and is known as an expert on Middle Eastern affairs. He was one of the first to recognize the protracted nature of the conflict against religious-inspired extremists, and in response he reorganized the theatre to fight what he called “The Long War,” a complex regional struggle.

Gen. Abizaid led international coalitions that operated in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa and the Persian Gulf. At the same time, he was responsible for all military operations and activities in 27 nations in the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East, the Horn of Africa and Central Asia. He oversaw humanitarian operations such as relief for earthquake victims in Iran and Pakistan, as well as evacuation of American citizens from Lebanon prior to and during the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict in 2006.

Before his Central Command assignments, Gen. Abizaid served as the ranking three-star officer on the Joint Staff as the director of the Joint Staff. During his tenure, he advised the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Defense in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, as well as on homeland security issues and military operations worldwide.

Gen. Abizaid has also been the director of plans and policy for the Joint Chiefs, as well as commanding general of the First Infantry Division, known as “The Big Red One,” and as the 66th commandant of cadets at West Point. He also has served as assistant division commander, First Armored Division, in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and as commander of the Ranger Companies in the 2nd and 1st Ranger Battalions, the 325th Airborne Battalion Combat Team in Vicenza, Italy, and an 82nd Airborne Parachute Brigade in Fort Bragg, N.C., as well as executive assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and special assistant to Gen. Max Thurman.

Gen. Abizaid graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1973 and also attended the Armed Forces Staff College and fulfilled an Army War College Senior Fellowship at the Hoover Institution at Stanford. His other studies include an Olmsted Scholarship at the University of Jordan and a master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard. In June 2007, he returned to the Hoover Institution as the Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow.

Vox Discipuli is a new student-run lecture series that aims to enrich the educational experience of Boise State students and community by presenting lectures, panels and debates on contemporary topics relevant to students.

-30-

Media Contact: Julie Hahn, University Communications, (208) 426-5540, juliehahn@boisestate.edu

Boise State University is emerging as a metropolitan research university of distinction. This transformation is being powered by the university’s first comprehensive campaign to support students, faculty, strategic initiatives, research and infrastructure. That’s why the campaign to raise $175 million in private support is called Destination Distinction.
 

The Office of Communications and Marketing - Boise State University
1910 University Drive - Boise Idaho 83725-1030
Located in Capitol Village, 2225 W. University Drive
email communications@boisestate.edu

Last reviewed on Tuesday, February 19, 2008