Media Advisory: Former U.S. Ambassador to Somalia, to Address Developments in North Africa, Middle East on March 28

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Robert Gosende, recently retired special assistant to the SUNY Chancellor for International Programs, the John W. Ryan Fellow in International Relations at the University of Albany, and ambassador to Somalia at the height of that nation's 1992-93 humanitarian crisis, will present a free public lecture about recent developments in North Africa and the Middle East on March 28.

His talk, "Re-setting U.S./Muslim Relations: A Time for Expanded Emphasis on Educational and Cultural Affairs," will take place from 3 to 4:30 p.m., in 567 Capen Hall, UB North Campus.

Gosende will be available for media interviews immediately after the talk.

Before joining SUNY in 1998, Gosende was a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service in both in the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) and the Department of State. His foreign service included tours of duty as a cultural affairs officer in Libya, Somalia and Poland; service in the Russian Federation from 1996 to 1998 as both minister-counselor for press and cultural affairs and director of the U.S. Information Service.

He received Presidential Awards from Presidents Bush and Clinton for his tenure as the USIA director for African affairs and as ambassador to Somalia.

Gosende received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he currently is associate vice chancellor.