First ‘Eye of the Hawk’ events set to soar

Expert on business in China James McGregor and modern diversity leader The Rev. Jamie Washington have presentations set for Thursday and Jan. 30, respectively

The Eye of the Hawk is upon us and starting this week the University of North Dakota will be treated to the first of a special series of lectures intended to bring the campus together to discuss important topics with the nation and world’s preeminent experts in their fields.

President Mark and Debbie Kennedy invite the campus community to the Eye of the Hawk Lecture series, the first of which is set for Thursday, Jan. 19, at the Gorecki Alumni Center. This first event will feature James McGregor, chairman of the greater China region for APCO Worldwide, a leading global public affairs consultancy.

McGregor is set to speak on “How China Impacts North Dakota and Your Future,” at 5:30 p.m. The presentation is free and open to the public. McGregor’s lecture will be hosted by the UND College of Business & Public Administration and sponsored by First State Bank of North Dakota.

Then, on Monday, Jan. 30, the second lecture in the series will commence with featured speaker The Rev. Jamie Washington, president and founder of the Washington Consulting Group and the Social Justice Training Institute.

Washington’s presentations, also slated to begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Gorecki Center, is titled “Diversity and Inclusion in 2017: Our Next Round of Work,” an interactive discussion on diversity in the modern world. Washington’s lecture will be hosted by the UND College of Arts & Sciences and sponsored by Rick and Jody Burgum.

Washington’s presentation also is part of UND’s Interfaith Week, which runs Jan. 28-Feb. 3.

About McGregor:

Few people are better qualified to bring to life the role that China plays in our future and our region McGregor. Besides running his public affairs consultancy, he is author of two highly regarded books: No Ancient Wisdom, No Followers: The Challenges of Chinese Authoritarian Capitalism and One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China.

A native of Duluth, Minn., McGregor has worked as a Washington, D.C. correspondent for The Grand Forks Herald, was a veteran reporter for The Wall Street Journal and served as CEO of Dow Jones’ China.

About Washington:

Washington’s consulting group is a multicultural organizational development firm based in Baltimore. Over the past 30 years, Washington has served as an educator, administrator and consultant in higher education for over 30 years. He also serves as visiting assistant professor of religion and social ethics at Winston Salem State University in North Carolina.

Washington earned his bachelor’s degree from Slippery Rock State College, and holds masters’ degrees from Indiana University in Bloomington.  He also received his Ph.D. in college student development, from the University of Maryland College Park. In addition, he holds a master’s degree from Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, D.C.

Lectureship roots

The idea for the Eye of the Hawk Lecture Series originates from UND President Kennedy and has its roots in the president’s previous appointment at George Washington University (GWU), where he served as director of the Graduate School of Political Management; as well as at Kennedy’s alma mater of St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minn.

At GWU, as head of the graduate school Kennedy, along with his wife, Debbie, sponsored a Frontiers of Freedom Award to honor individuals who work to advance the frontier of freedom beyond the borders of the United States.  At St. John’s, the Kennedys set up a lecture series by the same name as GWU award. The Mark Kennedy Frontiers of Freedom Lecture Series at St. John’s University Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement set a goal of bringing in speakers that added “real intellectual diversity… to ensure that you hear both sides, so you can critically evaluate the challenged we face,” Mark Kennedy said.

“My hope is that through the Eye of the Hawk Lecture Series and other activities, I may, in some small way advance the same purposes here at UND,” he added.