November 2, 2004

Former central intelligence director ushers in Purdue technology lecture series

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A former director of U.S. central intelligence will be the inaugural speaker in the School of Technology Dean's Distinguished Lecture Series at Purdue University.

R. James Woolsey, who served as director from 1993 to 1995, will discuss the effects of technology on globalization and economic development from 2:30-3:30 p.m. Tuesday (Nov. 9) in Stewart Center's Fowler Hall. Woolsey's talk is free and open to the public.

"Mr. Woolsey's impeccable credentials, as well as his knowledge of the effects technology can have around the world, make him an ideal choice to begin this lecture series," said School of Technology Dean Dennis R. Depew. "It is important for those of us who are developing tomorrow's technology to understand the far-reaching impact that technology can have on people's lives."

As director of central intelligence, Woolsey led the Central Intelligence Agency as well as 14 other government agencies and organizations involved in U.S. intelligence activities. Woolsey also spent 12 years working under four U.S. presidents in positions that included ambassador to the negotiation on conventional armed forces in Europe, undersecretary of the Navy and general counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services.

He also was appointed a delegate-at-large to the U.S.-Soviet Strategic Arms Reduction Talks and Nuclear and Space Arms Talks and served in that capacity on a part-time basis from 1983 to 1986. As an Army officer, Woolsey was an adviser on the U.S. delegation to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I) in 1969 and 1970.

An attorney, Woolsey was a partner at the law firm Shea and Gardner in Washington, D.C., before joining Booz Allen Hamilton in 2002 as vice president and officer in the firm's global resilience practice. Booz Allen Hamilton focuses on interactions among people, technology, economic development and globalization.

The lecture series is a semi-annual event that features leaders in business, government and education who address the role technology plays in society. John Lewis Bell, president of M&P Ventures, will present the second lecture on April 15.

CONTACT: Depew, (765) 494-2552, drdepew@purdue.edu; Michael J. Dyrenfurth, lecture series coordinator, (765) 496-1203, mdyrenfurth@purdue.edu

Writer: Matt Holsapple, (765) 494-2073, mholsapple@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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