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Hamilton College has a long history of engagement in the Foreign Service  beginning with alumnus Elihu Root, class of 1864, who served as U.S. Secretary of State for four years beginning in 1905. Given this legacy, it is not surprising that one current and four former ambassadors are sharing their experiences and perspectives with the campus community this semester.

With extensive media coverage of gruesome acts committed by ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Jihadists, the Taliban and the Boko Haram, to name a few, many Americans wonder why Islam lends itself so readily to violent extremism. The same question has been recently raised on-campus by the Enquiry, a weekly opinion editorial sponsored by the Alexander Hamilton Institute, prompting the Muslim Students Association (MSA) and the Arabic and Middle East Club (AMEC) to invite a panel of experts to campus in an effort to deepen the community’s understanding of the connection, or lack thereof, between Islam and extremism.

Hamilton College will host a panel titled “Islam: A Religion of Extremism?” with a panel of experts, including former U.S. ambassadors and faculty with expertise in the Middle East, on Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 4:15 p.m., in the Chapel. The discussion is free and open to the public.

On September 10, Hamilton College, the United States of America, and the world turned their eyes toward Syria. While President Obama addressed the topic on national TV, Hamilton History Professor Shoshana Keller, Visiting Instructor of Critical Languages Mireille Koukjian, and former U.S. Ambassador Edward Walker, Jr. ’62 hosted a panel discussion: What’s Going on in Syria.

A panel of Hamilton College faculty experts will discuss “What’s Going on in Syria,” on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 8 p.m., in the Red Pit (room 127), KJ.  The panel will feature former U.S. Ambassador Edward Walker, Jr., Professor of History Shoshana Keller, and Visiting Instructor of Critical Languages Mireille Koukjian. The discussion is free and open to the public.

The national media highlighted Hamilton College in multiple ways throughout 2012 by focusing on faculty research and expertise, featuring opinion pieces, and announcing new endeavors and special student projects. From The Today Show to NPR’s All Things Considered to The Chronicle of Higher Education, the college was visible in the media across the country.

On the eve of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s meeting with Egypt’s first freely-elected president this weekend, Edward “Ned” Walker ’62, the Christian A. Johnson Distinguished Professor of Global Political Theory and former ambassador to Egypt and Israel, spoke with a reporter from The Christian Science Monitor. The resulting article, “Hillary Clinton to meet Egypt’s new president: what is at stake” published on July 14, quoted Walker extensively.

Edward “Ned” Walker ’62, the Christian A. Johnson Distinguished Professor of Global Political Theory and former ambassador to Egypt and Israel, discussed the election of the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi as Egypt’s next president with host Candy Crowley on the June 24 broadcast of CNN’s State of the Union. The New York Times in a June 25 article titled “Egypt Results Leave White House Relieved but Watchful” included one of Walker’s comments from the CNN interview.

Concurrent with the Middle East’s growing role in international politics, student interest in that part of the world has been expanding. In response to both, the faculty approved an interdisciplinary program and minor in Middle East and Islamic World Studies at its May 1 meeting.

An op-ed written by Peter Maher ’13 was published on Jan. 22 by The Tribune Papers of Asheville, N.C. The piece, titled “The Lone Wolf: Why singular terrorists pose the greatest threat,” was written as an assignment in a fall semester Government class, Global Challenges, taught by Ambassador Edward “Ned”  Walker Jr. ’62. Maher then submitted it to the paper for consideration.