Former U.S. Ambassador to United Nations to speak at UF about superpower myth

January 5, 2006

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Nancy E. Soderberg, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, will speak at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 18 in the Grand Ballroom of the Reitz Student Union, University of Florida.

Soderberg’s speech, titled “The Superpower Myth – The Use and Misuse of American Might,” will draw on her book with the same title and on her extensive government experience. Books will be available for purchase and signing at the end of the lecture. The event is sponsored by the UF International Center (UFIC), in collaboration with the Center for African Studies, Department of Political Science, and the Transnational and Global Studies Center. Admission is free and open to the public.

Soderberg will also conduct talks Jan. 18 titled “Preventing Conflict in Africa” at 11:45 a.m. in 471 Grinter Hall and “Can the U.N. Be Reformed?”at 2 p.m. in 216 Anderson Hall. The talks are free and open to public.

Soderberg was a senior foreign policy adviser to President Clinton from the 1992 campaign through the end of his second term. From 1993 to 1996, she was the third-ranking official at the National Security Council, and from 1997 to 2001, she was a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. She is now a vice president at the International Crisis Group, and she is regularly invited to comment on foreign policy issues by NPR, MSNBC, CNN, FOX News, the BBC, the Washington Post and the New York Times.

The mission of the International Center is to enhance the educational environment and experience of UF’s students, faculty, and staff by promoting a global perspective. Through its International Speakers Program, the UFIC encourages discussion and debate regarding international issues on campus and in the community. Past speakers include John Prendergast of the International Crisis Group, former CIA analyst Ray McGovern, Ambassador Joseph Wilson, David Ballard, Director of the Office of Foreign Press for the U.S. State Department, and senior military correspondent for Knight Ridder Newspapers, Joe Galloway.