Former Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana will deliver the Ashe Lecture on August 27, and journalist and author Tom Brokaw will give the Baker Distinguished Lecture on November 13.

The center will highlight its first decade of work with an exhibit and reception in the Baker Center Rotunda on September 4.

“This is an exciting time for the Baker Center,” Director Matt Murray said. “Senator Baker, who celebrates his eighty-eighth birthday on November 15, wanted to create a place where the campus and community could learn more about major issues facing our country.

“He also envisioned a place where students and faculty could nurture a ‘think tank’ atmosphere and become a source of expertise in the national discussion. We’ve made great strides toward that goal, and we’re excited as we plan the center’s future, focusing especially on energy and environmental issues, governance, and global security.”

Here’s the fall lineup. Events are free and open to the public unless other noted:

August 27—1:30 p.m., Baker Center Toyota Auditorium—Lugar will present Ashe Lecture.

August 29—3:30 to 5:00 p.m., Toyota Auditorium—Joshua Fu, UT associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, will talk about modeling in climate change as part of the Baker Forum on Energy and the Environment.

September 4—4:30 to 6:00 p.m. Tenth anniversary reception will be held in the Baker Center Rotunda.

September 17—5:30 p.m., Toyota Auditorium—Constitution Day panel discussion will feature several UT faculty members: Suzie Allard, associate professor of information sciences; Michael Berry, professor of electrical engineering and computer science and director of the Center for Intelligent Systems and Machine Learning; Brandon Prins, associate professor of political science; and Glenn Reynolds, law professor.

September 26—3:30 to 5:00 p.m., 416 Dougherty Engineering Building—Jim Shortie, a professor at Penn State University, will talk about agricultural and environmental economics as part of the Baker Forum on Energy and the Environment.

October 12—10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Toyota Auditorium—Working in collaboration with UT and city officials, students will develop suggestions for a parking policy for the future renovated Cumberland Strip. Check bakercenter.utk.edu for more information about how to participate.

October 24—6:00 to 7:30 p.m, Toyota Auditorium—Panelists from several universities will discuss emerging challenges to global security.

October 24—3:30 to 5:00 p.m., Toyota Auditorium—J.B. Ruhl, David Daniels Allen Distinguished Chair in Law at Vanderbilt University, will talk about environmental law as part of the Baker Forum on Energy and the Environment.

November 6—12:40 to 2:10 p.m., Toyota Auditorium—2013 Women’s Leadership Summit. The topic will be “Sustainable Quality of Life.” Co-sponsored by UT Center for Sustainable Business and Development.

November 13—1:30 p.m., University Center Auditorium—Tom Brokaw will give the Baker Distinguished Lecture. A Patrons Lunch will be held prior to the lecture. Cost is $250 per person and reservations are required. The free public lecture will be held at 1:30 p.m. in University Center Auditorium, 1502 Cumberland Avenue.

November 14—3:30 to 5:00 p.m., Toyota Auditorium—Bruce McCarl, a professor of agricultural economics at Texas A & M University, will talk about biofuels and climate change as part of the Baker Forum on Energy and the Environment.

Established in 2003, the Baker Center seeks to further the public’s knowledge of the US government and public policy and to encourage civil leadership and public service. The center sponsors programs to encourage informed discussion, with a special focus on engaging young people in policy issues and public service.

For more information about the Baker Center, visit bakercenter.utk.edu.

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CONTACT:

Nissa Dahlin-Brown (865-974-8681, nissa@utk.edu)

INS Director Howard Hall hosting an International Academic Nuclear Security Roundtable at the Baker Center on July 9, 2013

The Institute of Nuclear Security (INS) hosted an International Academic Nuclear Security Roundtable this month. International academic experts from six countries discussed the efforts that their countries are undertaking to promote nuclear security in a number of essential areas. The event was a unique opportunity to engage with nine international academic leaders who are developing or cultivating the next generation nuclear security leaders globally. To read more about it, visit the INS website.

Vines has established the Georgiana Vines Endowed Scholarship Fund to reflect her interest in journalism and public policy. This fund awards merit-based aid to Baker Scholars enrolled in the College of Communication and Information.

Vines said she was inspired to create the scholarship through classroom interactions with a former journalism student who was a Baker Scholar.

“Throughout the semester, the student’s intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm for news reporting impressed me. As a Baker Scholar, she had taken on an immersive policy research project on top of her full-time course load. As I got to know her, I gained a better understanding of the goals of the Baker Scholars program,” Vines said.

Baker Scholars undergo a rigorous application process and commit to additional scholarly work, but they do not presently receive direct, merit-based aid or research stipends for their Baker appointments.

Vines encourages others to follow her lead.

“The Howard Baker Center plays a very important role in the community, on campus, and in the lives of students. There is a need for private support, and I’d encourage others to seriously consider making a gift to the Baker Center,” she said.

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C O N T A C T :

Michelle Castro (865-974-3816, mcastro@utfi.org)

“We are pleased to establish the Ashe Lecture Series at the Baker Center,” said Matt Murray, director of the Baker Center. “In accordance with the Baker Center’s mission and strategic focus on quality programs, the Ashe Lecture Series will be a welcome addition to the center’s emphasis on public discourse and civic engagement.”

This lecture series was created to honor Sen. Baker by hosting ambassadors and mayors to speak on policy matters including foreign relations, diplomacy, world affairs, and local government.

“Senator Baker’s emphasis on effective governance and leadership is a model for all,” said Ashe. “I’m hopeful the Ashe Lecture Series will encourage others to get involved as the Baker Center continues to focus on its mission of student engagement, public programming and policy research.”

For more information about the lecture series or to make a contribution, contact Michelle Castro at 865-974-3816 or mcastro@utfi.org. For more information about the Baker Center, visit the website.

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C O N T A C T :

Nissa Dahlin-Brown (865-974-8681, nissa@utk.edu)

The luncheon will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Baker Center. Cost is $15, and reservations must be made by calling 865-974-0931 or e-mailing bakercenter@utk.edu by May 14.

The event is being sponsored by Senator Baker and his wife, Senator Nancy Kassebaum.

The Baker Center has hosted several events focusing on the importance of humor in politics. Daniel is being honored by the Baker Center for his long and illustrious career.

A small exhibit of Daniel’s work will be on display in the Baker Center rotunda.

Daniel began his drawing cartoons for the Daily Tar Heel in 1955 while working on his political science degree at the University of North Carolina. He moved to Knoxville and started working for the Knoxville Journal in 1958. He became the editorial cartoonist at the Knoxville News Sentinel in 1992 and remains there today.

Daniel is a member of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. He is also a board member of the Baptist Health System, the Volunteer Ministry, and is president of the Alumni Board of Fork Union Military Academy.

His cartoons have been featured in exhibits at UT, East Tennessee State University, Roane State Community College, Lincoln Memorial University, Carson-Newman College, the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge, the Hanson Gallery, and the gallery at the Knoxville News Sentinel.

For more about the Baker Center, visit the website.

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C O N T A C T :

Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, ablakely@utk.edu)

Nissa Dahlin-Brown (865-974-8681, nissa@utk.edu)

That is the message of “Assessment of Incentives and Employment Impacts of Solar Industry Deployment,” a report commissioned by the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA).

The Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, administered funding for the research and the report. The Baker Center is a nonpartisan institute devoted to education and scholarship concerning public policy and civic engagement.

The report was written by a five-person team that included Susan M. Schexnayder, a senior research associate with UT’s Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries; Alexandra Brewer, a UT graduate student in political science and graduate research assistant at the Baker Center; David P. Vogt of Decision Commerce Group LLC and retired from Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Tom N. Yoder, of Ohio, a partner at Decision Commerce Group LLC and an independent research professional; and Edward J. Lapsa, an independent consultant from Knoxville.

“This report looks at solar in relation to other energy sources and finds that solar is on the path to becoming a mainstream source of energy for our nation,” said Matt Murray, director of the Baker Center. “In addition, the report pulls together data showing the solar industry’s great potential for the US economy—not only in the diversification of our energy supply, but also through job creation and global business opportunities.”

Murray said being involved with the production of this report is in line with the Baker Center’s focus on energy and environmental policy. The Baker Center is also administering the $700,000 SunShot Solar Initiative, a project looking at the regulatory challenges and non-technological barriers to solar adoption.

Report highlights

The report outlines a variety of benefits of solar energy, which include:

• Its ability to reduce energy costs by providing much of the nation’s electricity needs during peak usage times;
• Its potential to produce hundreds of thousands of jobs; and
• Its tremendous export potential for solar manufacturing and materials.

Solar energy is readily available—especially during peak usage times—and, therefore, could provide a cheap energy alternative, the report states.

“As economic growth becomes ever more dependent on abundant and sustainable energy supplies, policymakers are working to enrich the portfolio of electricity-producing fuel sources with options like wind and solar power,” the report says. “Rooftop solar power alone would provide 20 percent of our electricity needs.”

Annual installed solar capacity has seen steady increases, especially in the past six years. It nearly doubled between 2009 and 2010 and was expected to double again between 2010 and 2011.

Long-term annual cumulative growth projections range from about 5 percent to 25 percent.

As the use of solar energy increases, the industry will grow as an economic force.

“The growing solar industry will be a boost to employment in the U.S., especially since the solar industry has historically produced more jobs per megawatt-hour than any other energy industry. Depending on the assumed growth rate, we estimate between 193,000 and 2.3 million total jobs.”

Likewise, the export potential for US solar manufacturing and material is also expanding with the rapid increase in solar use in Europe.

Role of federal incentives

Research shows that many American industries travel a somewhat bumpy path as they enter the mainstream of commerce.

Historically, it’s taken about thirty years for energy resources—oil, natural gas, hydropower, coal, etc.—to go from innovation to early adoption to rapid growth, and, finally, to majority adoption, the report notes.

“Each traditional energy sources has been developed with what might even conservatively be considered ‘significant’ government engagement, from market control measures for oil, to making pipelines available for natural gas, to building flood control dams that provide the fuel for hydropower, to states surveying their coal resources,” the report says.

In the days before the oil embargo, federal energy policy was either industrial policy or economic development policy meant to maintain competition, provide for national security, and promote economic development through tax incentives.

After the oil embargo, the federal energy policy got more focused, maintaining competition by deregulation; assuring worker safety, public health, and environmental quality; and providing for energy security by adding renewable energy options to the national portfolio.

The federal government currently provides incentives to every major energy production market, although reports of how much money the government spends on each vary greatly.

Federal incentives may aid in an energy resource’s production and refining, transmission, and distribution, transformation, or consumption. Effective incentives help remove specific barriers, level costs for private markets, and offer stability that help new technologies “cross the chasm” into mainstream use. Ideally, the incentives can decrease as the industry matures.

Fossil fuels, biofuels, and nuclear power have had significant federal engagement in the production, refining, and transportation steps.

Solar energy—because it’s widely available and doesn’t need to be transported—won’t need much federal investment in these areas.

Read the full report on the Baker Center website (pdf).

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C O N T A C T :

Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, ablakely@utk.edu)

Christine Todd Whitman

KNOXVILLE—Two notable public servants will visit the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, next week to talk about national and international issues. All events are sponsored by the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy.

Christine Todd Whitman, former governor of New Jersey and former director of the Environmental Protection Agency, and Ambassador Thomas Graham, a diplomat and expert on nuclear nonproliferation, will give public talks in the Baker Center’s Toyota Auditorium.

Whitman will give a free public lecture at 7:00 p.m. on April 25. Her talk, “The Need for Climate Change in Washington: How Hyper-Partisanship Has Paralyzed Policymaking,” is also sponsored by the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Thomas Graham

Whitman served as the fiftieth governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and was its first woman governor. Her administration set the bar for balancing the state budget. By the time she signed her last budget, she had grown the state surplus to nearly $1.2 billion and virtually eliminated the structural deficit. Whitman went on to serve as the director of the Environmental Protection Agency from 2001 to 2003 under President George W. Bush. Today she runs a consulting firm, the Whitman Strategy Group.

On April 26, Graham will speak and sign copies of his new book at an 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. luncheon. His talk is titled “Unending Crisis: National Security after 9/11.” Cost is $15. To reserve a seat, call 865-974-8681 no later than April 24.

Graham will sign copies of his new book, Unending Crisis. The book examines the Bush administration’s management of foreign policy following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, emphasizing the interrelationship of several critical issues. The book has not yet been released but will be available for purchase on site.

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*MEDIA NOTE: Whitman will be available to meet with area media from 4:45 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. on April 25 in the Baker Center. Please call if you plan to attend.

C O N T A C T :

Nissa Dahlin-Brown (865-974-8681, nissa@utk.edu)

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is part of a national effort to find out.

UT’s Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public is participating in the US Department of Energy’s Rooftop Solar Challenge, an effort to encourage wider use of solar energy by streamlining the permitting processes, cutting red tape, and lowering the costs for rooftop solar systems.

The Baker Center, along with other UT departments and the Tennessee Solar Institute, is administering a $700,000 DOE grant that the group will use to identify best practices in financing, permitting, and zoning. The goal is to encourage the adoption of an online system to allow residents of four jurisdictions—Knoxville, Franklin, Nashville, and Memphis/Shelby County—to get residential solar permits through an over-the-counter, same-day review process.

“This research is timely and fits nicely within the Baker Center’s focus on energy and environmental policy,” Baker Center Director Matt Murray said. “We are pleased to play a role in this important environmental initiative.”

UT is one of twenty-two teams nation-wide to receive Rooftop Solar Challenge funding. The teams bring together city, county, and state officials, regulatory entities, private industry, universities, local utilities, and other regional stakeholders to clear a path for rapid expansion of solar energy and serve as models for other communities across the country.

Like the UT team, each team is trying to increase access to financing, standardize permit processes, improve grid-connection standards, and update planning and zoning codes. Non-hardware costs such as permitting, installation, design, and maintenance currently account for up to 40 percent of the total cost of installed rooftop photovoltaic systems in the United States. Lowering these costs is an important part of growing the solar energy industry so that it can provide clean, renewable energy for American families and businesses, improve US energy security, and create new jobs for American workers.

The UT team will work with the four municipalities and their electrical distributors, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and other stakeholders. They will try to create uniform documents, develop a prototype mobile application for installers, and assist in the developing more standardized code. The team also will research best practices from around the country on third-party financing, community solar, zoning, subdivision ordinances, and historic preservation in regards to solar rooftop installations.

“The UT team understands the importance of reducing the administrative barriers that stand in the way of solar-energy adoption in Tennessee,” said project principal investigator Bruce Tonn, who is a professor in the Department of Political Science and a fellow of the Energy and Environment Program at the Baker Center. “Funding and innovation leadership through the Rooftop Solar Challenge will help our state transition to clean solar energy.”

The Rooftop Solar Challenge is part of the DOE SunShot Initiative, an effort to make solar cost-competitive with other energy forms by the end of the decade. Reducing the installed cost of solar energy systems by about 75 percent will help drive widespread and large-scale adoption of solar power.

“Through the Rooftop Solar Challenge, the energy department is helping to unleash America’s solar energy potential in Tennessee and communities across the country,” US Energy Secretary Steven Chu said. “These awards will reduce the costs homeowners and businesses pay to install solar energy systems, while at the same time saving time and money for local governments faced with tight budgets.”

For information about the SunShot Initiative, visit energy.gov/SunShot.

For information on individual Rooftop Solar Challenge awards, visit www.eere.energy.gov/solar/sunshot/rooftop_challenge.html.

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C O N T A C T :

Anne Guidos, (865-974-0931, aguidos@tennessee.edu)

Mead will present a lecture titled “American Strategy in the Atomic Age” at 5:00 p.m. on April 2. At noon on April 3 there will be a panel discussion on “Public Intellectuals and Blogging” featuring Mead and Glenn Reynolds, professor in the UT College of Law and author of the blog Instapundit.

Both events are free and open to the public. They will be held in the Toyota Auditorium of the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy.

Mead’s visit is sponsored by a number of groups that cooperated to bring him to campus: the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, Y-12 National Security Complex, the College of Arts and Sciences, the UT Humanities Initiative, the Department of History, and the Center for the Study of War and Society. The events are part of a project on the history of the Atomic Age, currently under construction as part of the partnership between UT and Y-12.

Mead is the James Clarke Chase Professor of Foreign Affairs and the Humanities at Bard College and editor at large of The American Interest. Until 2003, he served as the Henry A. Kissinger senior fellow for US foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. Until 2011, he also was a Brady-Johnson Distinguished Fellow in Grand Strategy at Yale and taught in Yale’s International Security Studies Program.

Mead is the author of the Via Meadia blog at www.theamericaninterest.com, where he writes regular essays on international affairs, religion, politics, culture, education, economics, technology, literature, and the media. Mead’s writings are frequently linked to and discussed by major news outlets and websites such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, the Financial Times, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard, Harper’s, The Washington Post, and RealClearPolitics, as well as by foreign periodicals.

He serves as a regular reviewer of books for Foreign Affairs and frequently appears on national and international radio and television programs. In 1997, he was a finalist for the National Magazine Award in the category of essays and criticism.

His most recent books include Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and How It Changed the World, which won the Lionel Gelber Award, and God and Gold: Britain, America, and the Making of the Modern World.

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C O N T A C T :

Cynthia Tinker (865-974-0128, ctinker@utk.edu)

The event is being held from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 27 in the Toyota Auditorium inside the Howard H. Baker Cente Center for Public Policy

Since its inception in 2004, the Baker Scholars program has consistently attracted UT’s most academically gifted, politically curious students by offering a unique and meaningful opportunity to engage in public policy and research. The undergraduate students will present and discuss topics on a range of public policies in a variety of countries.

The event is part of Research Week, which spotlights the significance of undergraduate accomplishments. Undergraduate research opportunities are crucial in attracting the brightest students and continuing UT on its path towards becoming a Top 25 public research institution.

Included in the week is a visit from Diana Elder Anderson of the National Science Foundation to discuss the agency’s research experiences for undergraduates.

The week culminates with the Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement (EURēCA) in which undergraduate students present original research poster displays that are judged by a panel of UT faculty.

For a complete schedule of activities related to Research Week, visit research.utk.edu/undergrad/activities/rw.shtml.

UT Institute for Nuclear Security Director Howard Hall (right) presents the Uranium Bowl trophy to NCSU Professor Steve Skutnik and the NCSU team.

Luckily, the attack was fiction and response was just an exercise in the inaugural Uranium Bowl – a physical security “play-off” between students at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and North Carolina State University.  Sponsored by UT’s Institute for Nuclear Security (INS), the Uranium Bowl is a capstone event in the classes in nuclear security at UT and NCSU.

“We’ve been developing our nuclear security classes at UT for several years,” said INS Director and Governor’s Chair Professor Howard Hall. “This year, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) helped us extend that work to a new class at NCSU.”

The UT student team was from UT’s Nuclear Engineering Department class on Physical Security for Nuclear Facilities taught by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) staff member and UT faculty member Dyrk Greenhalgh. The NCSU team was from professor Steve Skutnick’s nuclear engineering students.

Both teams fought off the attacking forces, and although the terrorists breached the facility perimeter, neither team was able to penetrate the building where the hypothetical weapons-grade material was stored.

“There were several reasons why each opposing force was unable to successfully reach the materials—and it has everything to do with the depth of analysis of the facility security elements, team game strategy, and outright luck,” Greenhalgh said. “The point of the exercise was to determine facility weaknesses and both exploit and harden those for each round.”

Having essentially fought to a tie, the final decision on victory was made by the judging team led by Greenhalgh. NCSU took home the prize.

“The fact that they fought to a draw tells me that they were extremely well-matched and mitigated the vulnerabilities determined to exist in the facility,” Greenhalgh said.

“This has been a great experience for our students,” Skutnick said. “The Uranium Bowl had all of my students really engaged and competing hard.”

“Although UT didn’t bring home the trophy, we’re very pleased to have partnered with NCSU on this,” Hall said.  “The real winner in the Uranium Bowl is everyone who cares about securing and protecting nuclear material from bad guys. All these students will eventually go on to lead ongoing global efforts in nuclear security.”

INS is a collaboration of ORNL, the Y-12 National Security Complex, and Oak Ridge Associated Universities. The institute seeks to develop and provide expertise that will shape national and international policies for nuclear security with a formulation process that involves research, education, training, and field activities. It is housed within UT’s Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy.

Murray, the Ball Corporation Professor of Business, will take the place of Carl Pierce, who has directed the center since June 2009. Pierce, who is the W. Allen Separk Distinguished Professor of Law, will now focus on compiling Senator Baker’s papers and will eventually divide his time between the Baker Center and teaching in UT’s College of Law.

“We’re grateful to Carl for leading the center as we’ve studied its role on the campus and outlined a course that will keep it focused on critical issues, link it more directly to the campus’s academic community, and ensure it remains financially viable into the future. He’s helped us make changes that will lay the groundwork for transitioning the Baker Center into a more focused unit,” Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek said.

“Matt is taking the reins at the Baker Center at a time when we’re trying to align it more closely with the university mission to teach, conduct research, and provide service to our community and the world. Matt’s strong research background coupled with the relationships he has not only on campus, but also in the local, state, and national realm, will help us position the Baker Center as the go-to source of public policy information, especially in the areas of global security, energy, and the environment,” Cheek said.

Murray’s appointment as Baker Center director is for three years; he will continue to work with CBER during that time.

Senator Baker said he is enthusiastic about what’s been happening at the center and what its future holds.

“I think Carl did a tremendous job helping us rethink the role of the Baker Center and begin its transition. I now look forward to working with him on a variety of projects with the hope that these efforts may benefit future generations of public servants,” he said. “Meanwhile, I welcome Matt as the new director of the Baker Center. I’m confident his leadership will help it evolve as a thought-leader, both on campus and also with state and national leaders.”

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C O N T A C T :

Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, ablakely@utk.edu)

Siegfried Hecker, a senior US nuclear weapons scientist and former director of one of the two U.S. nuclear weapons design laboratories, will discuss the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs in a public presentation.

The presentation comes as a UN nuclear agency report reveals the strongest finding yet that Iran is going ahead with a bomb-making program. His talk will be held in the Toyota Auditorium of the Baker Center at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, November 18. This event is free and open to the public.  Parking is available for a small fee in the University Center garage.

“Iran and North Korea pose very serious challenges in preventing and reversing the spread of nuclear weapons,” said Howard Hall, UT Knoxville Governor’s Chair Professor in Nuclear Security. “The nonproliferation spotlight will be on the Korean peninsula next spring at the next international nuclear security summit, and Dr. Hecker is one of the few Westerners to ever actually enter North Korea’s weapons plants.”

Hecker will speak about his experiences with and observations of the North Korean weapons program and will compare the North Korean weapons development efforts with ongoing concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Hecker is co-director of the Stanford University Center for International Security and Cooperation. He joined Stanford University after a distinguished career at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he served as director of the laboratory for eleven years. Over the past twenty years, he has fostered cooperation with the Russian nuclear laboratories to secure and safeguard the vast stockpile of ex-Soviet fissile materials.

UT’s Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy is a nonpartisan institute devoted to education and scholarship concerning public policy and civic engagement. For more information, visit http://bakercenter.utk.edu/.

The event is sponsored by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the UT Student Chapter of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management, and the Global Security Program in the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy.

Hecker is available to the media upon request.

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C O N T A C T :

Howard Hall (865-974-2525, howard.hall@utk.edu)

Nissa Dahlin-Brown (865-974-0931, nissa@utk.edu)

At 7:00 p.m. today, Ambassador Adrian Vierita will speak at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy on security issues of importance to the United States and Romania. A reception will follow. The event is free and open to the public.

On Friday, Vierita will tour Oak Ridge National Laboratory and meet with UT President Joseph DiPietro. The ambassador will have a luncheon discussion with MBA students at the College of Business Administration and then meet with Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett.

On Friday, the ambassador will tour Knoxville and meet with the Romanian community of Knoxville.

Prior to his current appointment, Vierita was the Romanian ambassador to Germany.

Vierita is a career member of the Diplomatic Corps of Romania, having joined the Foreign Service on March 1, 1991.

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C O N T A C T :

Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, ablakely@utk.edu)