Energy independence, security goals topic of Virginia Tech lecture Dec. 4

R. James Woolsey, vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton, commissioner of the National Commission on Energy Policy, and founding member, of the Set America Free Coalition, will speak at Virginia Tech on Dec. 4 at 2 p.m. at the Lyric Theater in downtown Blacksburg.

Woolsey is known for bringing conservatives and liberals together on the issue of energy independence. He calls Set America Free, whose mission is to cut dependence on foreign oil, "a coalition of tree huggers, do-gooders, sodbusters, cheap hawks, and evangelicals." He will speak on "Energy, Security and the Long War of the 21st Century."

Woolsey has held presidential appointments in two Democratic and two Republican administrations. He was CIA director from 1993 to 1995. He also served as ambassador to the negotiation on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. He currently chairs the advisory boards of the Clean Fuels Foundation and the New Uses Council. Woolsey has served on the boards of a number of publicly and privately held companies, generally in fields related to technology and security. He was a partner at the law firm of Shea & Gardner in Washington, D.C. for 22 years.

The Energy and Environment Speaker Series is a continued offering of the Deans’ Forums, sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research. Speakers during the spring semester will include Marilyn Brown, a member of the National Commission on Energy Policy and chair of Energy Policy at the Georgia Tech School of Public Policy, and Anne Korin, co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security and director of Set America Free.

For more information, contact Jack Lesko, special assistant for energy initiatives, at (540) 231-5196.

Learn more about energy research and the speakers’ series at Virginia Tech.