Former Ambassador Susan Rice to appear at UB Feb. 28

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Former National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice will speak at the University at Buffalo at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 28, in Alumni Arena on the UB North Campus. She is the featured speaker in UB’s 42nd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration event, which is part of the university’s Distinguished Speakers Series.

Rice served President Barack Obama as National Security Advisor from July 1, 2013, to Jan. 20, 2017. In that role, she led the National Security Council staff, chaired the Cabinet-level National Security Principals Committee, provided the president’s daily national security briefing and was responsible for the coordination and integration of all aspects of the administration’s foreign and national security policy, intelligence and military efforts.

From January 2009 until assuming the role of National Security Advisor, Rice served as U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations. From 2002 to 2009, she was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, where she focused on U.S. foreign policy, transnational security threats, weak states, global poverty and development.

From 1997 to 2001, Rice was the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. In this position, she formulated and implemented U.S. policy for 48 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and oversaw the management of 43 U.S. Embassies and more than 5,000 U.S. and Foreign Service national employees. From 1995-97, Rice served as special assistant to President Clinton and senior director for African affairs for the National Security Council at the White House. From 1993 to 1995, she served as the director for international organizations and peacekeeping on the National Security Council staff.

Rice was co-recipient of the White House’s 2000 Samuel Nelson Drew Memorial Award for distinguished contributions to the formation of peaceful, cooperative relationships between states. In 2017, French President Francois Hollande presented Rice with the award of Commander, the Legion of Honor of France, for her contributions to Franco-American relations.

Tickets for her program are $18 to $42, and are available for sale through Ticketmaster and at the Alumni Arena box office (9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, UB North Campus).  Group rates are available.  Western New York high schools, non-profit community service organizations and religious groups can register for free tickets through the series’ Educational Outreach Program; the deadline to register is Feb. 14.  For more information about Rice, this year’s series lineup and tickets, visit: www.buffalo.edu/ub-speakers