Matthew Barzun, US Ambassador to the UK, has given a talk at Kent to coincide with the launch of a new diplomacy initiative.<\/p>\n
The Ambassador\u2019s talk was organised and hosted by the School of Politics and International Relations (POLIR)<\/a>. Among those invited to this exclusive event, which took place in the Colyer-Fergusson Music Building on the Canterbury campus, were students and staff from POLIR and the Centre for American Studies<\/a>.<\/p>\n During his hour-long talk, which took the form of a Q&A with the students, Ambassador Barzun <\/a>addressed a broad range of issues from US foreign policy, and its effect on the world today, to LGBT rights and the ways in which President Obama has developed a \u2018new type of leadership from the centre\u2019.<\/p>\n The Ambassador\u2019s visit coincided with the launch of POLIR\u2019s Diplomacy@Kent, one of several Beacon Projects<\/a> funded by the University to mark its 50th<\/span><\/sup> anniversary<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n Head of POLIR Professor Richard Whitman, who is also Co-director of Diplomacy@Kent, described Ambassador Barzun\u2019s visit as \u2018a tremendous opportunity for students to gain access to one of the most highly regarded and respected diplomats in the world today\u2019.<\/p>\n His fellow Co-director, Professor Feargal Cochrane, described it as \u2018the beginning of what promises to be an exciting programme of events and learning opportunities for this already popular Beacon project\u2019.<\/p>\n The Ambassador was welcomed to the University by Professor Whitman and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Keith Mander.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"