Conference Videos

On April 5-6, 2006, The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College will host a conference titled, “Mr. Jefferson Goes to the Middle East: Democracy's Prospects in the Arab World.”

The conference will focus on arguably the most important international issue today: the effort to spread democracy into the Arab-Muslim Middle East, and its long-term prospects. The Bush administration believes that success in this effort will be fundamental to a peaceful world and to ultimate victory in the War on Terror. Nations of special interest in this effort include not just Iraq and Afghanistan but Saudi Arabia and even the Palestinian state. Indeed, recent developments in the Arab world have been so dramatic that Egypt and Syria could dominate our 2006 conference as much as Iraq.

We have assembled a stellar list of participants. Confirmed speakers include:

• Michael Novak, American Enterprise Institute, former Templeton Prize winner
  http://www.aei.org/scholars/
  scholarID.44,filter.all/scholar.asp
  
  
• Ralph Peters, strategist, adventurer, world-traveler, best-selling author, and TV/radio commentator
  http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/08117
  32339/ref=sib_rdr_bf/002-9599165-30624
  32?%5Fencoding=UTF8&p=S0AF&j=0#rea
  der-page 
  
  
• Dr. Paul Marshall, Center for Religious Freedom, Freedom House. Mr. Marshall will give a talk titled, “Understanding Radical Islam." 
  http://www.freedomhouse.org/religion/
  about/staff.htm
  
  
• Dr. Daniel Pipes, Middle East Forum
  http://www.danielpipes.org/mef.php
  
  
• Tim Goeglein, Office of Public Liaison, The White House
  (Tentatively confirmed)
  http://www.washingtonpost.com/
  wp-dyn/articles/A23206-2004Dec23.html
  
  
• Dr. Radwan A. Masmoudi, President, Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy
  http://www.islam-democracy.org/masmoudi
  _bio.asp
  
   
• Dr. Sherifa D. Zuhur, Visiting Professor of National Security Affairs at the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
  http://www.carlisle.army.mil/ssi/pubs/people
  .cfm?authorID=555 
  
  
  
• Dr. Joseph Kickasola, Professor of International Affairs, Regent University
  http://www.regent.edu/acad/schgov/faculty/
  kickasola_bio.htm
  
  
• David Howard Peiffer, Founder and President of NITCOM Inc. Mr. Peiffer will serve on the panel, "Governing the Islamic World: Past and Present."
  
  
• Dr. Chris Coyne, Assistant Professor of economics at Hampden-Sydney College. Mr. Coyne will serve on a panel titled, "The Importance of Markets."
  http://www.ccoyne.com/
  
  
• Dr. Aaron Schavey, Assistant Professor of Economics at Bethel College
  http://www.bethelcollege.edu/academics/
  undergrad/business/faculty/aschavey.htm
  
  
• Dr. Antony T. Sullivan, Associate at the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Michigan. Mr. Sullivan will give a talk sponsored by The Fund for American Studies titled, "Islam, America, and the Political Economy of Liberty." 

  Short CURRICULUM VITAE

  Long CURRICULUM VITAE
  
  

• Michelle D. Bernard, President & CEO of the Independent Women's Forum
  http://www.iwf.org/experts/ex_bernard.asp
  
  
• Michael Medved, Nationally syndicated talk show host  
  http://www.michaelmedved.com
  
  
• Jennifer Jefferis, Doctoral candidate at Boston University
  
  
• Lt. George H. Kipp, acting Battalion Fire Support Officer for 2-34 Armour Battalion in Baqubah, Iraq
  

Also confirmed as speakers are a number of Grove City College professors with nationally known expertise:

• Dr. Paul Kengor, author of the best-selling book, God and George W. Bush, will speak on President Bush's understanding of the relationship between faith, freedom, and democracy, and how that view affects the president's vision for the Middle East; this will be an expansion of Kengor’s October 2004 article for The New York Times, titled “What Bush Believes.”
  
  
• Dr. Earl Tilford, former director of research for the Strategic Studies Institute at the Army War College, will do a provocative talk titled, “Democratization as a Strategy in the Global War on Terror.”
  
  
• Dr. Gary Smith, CVV Fellow for Faith and the Presidency and Professor/Chair of the History Department, will give a talk titled, "Do the Founders' Views of Religion and Republicanism Offer Any Insights for the Middle East Today?"
  
  
• Dr. T. David Gordon, professor of religion at Grove City College
  
  

• Dr. Michael Coulter, associate professor of political science at Grove City College

• Dr. Shawn Ritenour, associate professor of economics at Grove City College

• Dr. Mark Graham, assistant professor of history at Grove City College
  

The Center for Vision & Values seeks to develop a vision of freedom and to foster Christian values.

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