Delaware 2017 Great Decisions Community Discussion Series on U.S. Foreign Policy kicks off Friday, Feb.17 with a talk focusing on “The Future of Europe” by Goran Skosples, associate professor in the economics department at Ohio Wesleyan University.
In 1995 Skosples left his homeland, Croatia, to spend his senior year in Crystal Lake, Illinois, as a participant in the Rotary youth exchange program.
Originally intending to enroll at a university in Croatia, he instead returned to the United States where he graduated with a major in economics from Lake Forest College, Illinois.
He earned the Ph.D. in economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has been at O.W.U. since 2006. His teaching focus includes comparative economic systems, macroeconomics, research methods and economic principles.
He is well acquainted both by continuing experience and by his professional training and interests with the many issues facing contemporary Europe.
All Great Decisions discussions will begin at 12 noon in the Fellowship Hall of the William Street United Methodist Church, 28 W. William St., Delaware, Ohio 43015. Attendees are welcome to bring a brown-bag lunch. Complimentary coffee and tea will be provided. www.facebook.com/greatdecisionsdeloh.
Other speakers during the eight-session series are:
• Feb. 24, “Nuclear Security,” featuring Dennis Laich, Major General (ret’d).
• March 3, “Saudi Arabia in Transition,” featuring Melinda McClimans, assistant director of the Middle East Studies Center at The Ohio State University, and Rand Guebert, former consultant with Oilinvest BV.
• March 10, “Latin America’s Political Pendulum,” featuring James Franklin, chair of politics and government at Ohio Wesleyan University
• March 17, “Conflict in the South China Sea,” featuring Michelle Mood, professor of political science at Kenyon College
• March 24, “Trade and Politics,” featuring Ji Young Choi, professor of politics and government, Ohio Wesleyan University.
• March 31, “Prospects for Afghanistan and Pakistan,” featuring Alam Payind, director of the Middle East Studies Center at The Ohio State University.
• April 7, “U.S. Foreign Policy and Petroleum,” featuring Michael Houlahan, Foreign Service Officer (ret’d), U.S. State Department
Following each discussion, audience participants will have the option of completing a survey—prepared by the Foreign Policy Association—to add their opinions to thousands of others across the nation. The survey results will be made available to federal decision-makers. www.fpa.org
Local sponsors of the lecture series include the American Association of University Women, Kiwanis, the League of Women Voters, the International Studies Program at Ohio Wesleyan University, William Street United Methodist Church, Willow Brook Christian Communities, Cruise One and private donors.
