Monday, March 08, 2004

Wilmington, N.C. - The Political Science Department of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington presents Walter Andrusyszyn, managing director for business development, Plastipak Packaging, Inc., to discuss “Public Diplomacy,” as part of the Great Decisions Discussion Program, a spring lecture series. The lecture begins at 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 23 in Cameron Hall Auditorium, Room 105. The lecture is free and open to the public, but seating is limited.

Andrusyszyn joined the Plastipak in 2004, following a career in the U.S. government. Before retiring at the end of 2001, he was director for Northern and Eastern European Affairs in the National Security Council. He entered the Foreign Service in 1980 and served in Stockholm from 1980-82, and East Berlin from 1982-84, before returning to Washington to be the desk officer for Grenada and the Windward and Leeward Islands from 1985-87. In 1987 he was special assistant to Assistant Secretary Rozanne Ridgway in the Bureau of European and Canadian Affairs. He then served in Bonn as the Bonn Group representative, responsible for Berlin and Four Power Rights during the reunification of Germany. In 1990 he headed the Political-Military unit at the American Embassy in Bonn.

Andrusyszyn became the desk officer for Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia in 1992. In 1994, he returned to Bonn to head the unit reporting on domestic and political events in Germany. In October 1995, he was assigned to the American Embassy in Sarajevo where he served during the Dayton Peace Talks and for the first months of IFOR deployment. For his efforts to gain the release of an imprisoned American journalist held by Bosnian Serb authorities, Andrusyszyn received the Secretary’s Award for Heroism. In April 1996 he was assigned to Stockholm as political counselor and in July 1999 he became director of the Office of European Security and Political Affairs, responsible for NATO and OSCE.

The Great Decision Discussion Program is the longest standing and largest grassroots world affairs educational program of its kind. It is the core of the Foreign Policy Association’s civic education outreach efforts and works to bring millions of Americans together in communities across the country to discover, discuss, and decide their opinions on foreign policy issues. This lecture series presents experts in foreign policy on a variety of current global affairs.

The final speaker in the series is Ole Holsti of Duke University discussing Media and Foreign Policy. Interested individuals should check the event Web site for the most current information detailing upcoming speakers at www.greatdecisions2004.com. Or contact the advisor for the UNCW Great Decisions Discussion Program Remonda Kleinberg at 910/962-4254 or kleinbergr@uncw.edu.

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Media Contact: For information, contact the advisor of the UNCW Great Decisions Discussion Program Remonda Kleinberg at 910/962-4254 or kleinbergr@uncw.edu.