The 2018-19 Chancellor’s Lecture Series will kick off Sept. 27 with Gen. Michael Hayden, former director of the National Security Agency and Central Intelligence Agency.
Other Chancellor’s Lectures Series speakers this fall include oncologist Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies and assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University, on Nov. 1; and Temple Grandin, autism activist, prolific author and professor of animal sciences at Colorado State University, on Nov. 29.
Hayden, a retired four-star general in the Air Force, will speak with Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos and Distinguished Visiting Professor Jon Meacham at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 27 at Langford Auditorium in a conversation titled “The Assault on Intelligence: Decoding the Status of National Security.” Zeppos will ask questions submitted by the audience toward the end of the program.
In his newest book, The Assault on Intelligence: American National Security in an Age of Lies, Hayden argues that the work of American intelligence agencies has never been more important, and yet the community finds itself under siege. He notes that the nation’s truth tellers are being attacked at the same time that America’s international strategy remains undefined in Russia, North Korea and China.
In addition to leading the CIA and NSA, Hayden was the country’s first principal deputy director of national intelligence and the highest-ranking military intelligence officer in the country. In August, he joined 12 other former senior intelligence officials in signing a letter of support for former CIA director John Brennan after a White House decision to strip him of his security clearance.
Hayden is currently a principal at the Chertoff Group security and risk management firm and a distinguished visiting professor at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government.
Admission to the lecture is free and available on first-come, first-served basis, with parking available in the 25th Avenue Garage.
The Vanderbilt Chancellor’s Lecture Series strives to connect the university and the Nashville community with intellectuals who are shaping our world. For more information about the series, visit the Chancellor’s Lecture Series website, email cls@vanderbilt.edu, or follow @Nick_Zeppos on Twitter.