Pryor Center Hosts Gen. Wesley K. Clark Tonight

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Gen. Wesley K. Clark (ret.)

The Pryor Center Presents lecture series presented by the David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences begins the new year with "The End of the Post-Cold War: America in Crisis," given by Gen. Wesley K. Clark (ret.). 

This lecture will be offered via Zoom at 6 p.m. tonight. The event is open to the public, and advance registration is required.

Clark will be speaking about how the international position of the United States has changed from one he describes as "the indispensable nation" in the 1990s-2000s to that of one now "finding its values, interests and power under prolonged challenge by Russia, China and Iran." 

In his lecture, Clark will also discuss the significance of this shift in the U.S. relationship with these three countries. Additionally, he will share whether he believes a response is needed, and if so, what that American response should be. 

Clark retired as a four-star general after 38 years in the United States Army, having served in his last assignments as Commander of U.S. Southern Command and then as Commander of U.S. European Command/Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. 

A Little Rock native, Clark graduated first in his class at West Point and completed degrees in philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University (B.A. and M.A.) as a Rhodes scholar. 

He was the principal author of both the U.S. National Military Strategy and Joint Vision 2010, prescribing U.S. warfighting for full-spectrum dominance. He worked with Ambassador Richard Holbrooke in the Dayton Peace Process, where he helped write and negotiate significant portions of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement. 

In his final assignment as Supreme Allied Commander Europe, he led NATO forces to victory in Operation Allied Force, a 78-day air campaign, backed by ground invasion planning and a diplomatic process, saving 1.5 million Albanians from ethnic cleansing. His awards include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Defense Distinguished Service Medal (five awards), silver star, bronze star and purple heart. 

Clark is a businessman, educator, writer and commentator, and currently serves as chairman and CEO of Wesley K. Clark & Associates, a strategic consulting firm. In 2019, Clark founded Renew America Together, a nonprofit organization designed to promote and achieve greater common ground in America by reducing partisan division and gridlock.

Additional upcoming Pryor Center Presents events are being hosted throughout the spring semester.

Upcoming Pryor Center Presents events include:

Thursday, Feb. 3 — 6 p.m. (Virtual)
Pryor Center Presents "Once Forgotten: A Short Historical Documentary" featuring Obed Lamy and panelists Margaret Holcombe, RoAnne Elliott and Dr. Valandra.

Thursday, March 10 — 6 p.m.
Pryor Center Presents "Tell Me a Story — Many Paths to Book Publication" featuring Masie Cochran.

Thursday, April 14 — 6 p.m.
Pryor Center Presents "The Language of State Will: Research Conclusions from Through the Heart of the City: Interstates and Black Geographies in Urban America" featuring Airic Hughes.

DATE TBD
Pryor Center Presents "Arkansas News History: Exploring the KATV Collection" with Randy Dixon and Kyle Kellams.

About The David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History: The David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History is an oral history program with the mission to document the history of Arkansas through the collection of spoken memories and visual records, preserve the collection in perpetuity, and connect Arkansans and the world to the collection through the Internet, TV broadcasts, educational programs, and other means. The Pryor Center records audio and video interviews about Arkansas history and culture, collects other organizations' recordings, organizes these recordings into an archive, and provides public access to the archive, primarily through the website at pryorcenter.uark.edu. The Pryor Center is the state's only oral and visual history program with a statewide, seventy-five county mission to collect, preserve, and share audio and moving image recordings of Arkansas history.

About the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences: The Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences is the largest and most academically diverse unit on campus with three schools, 16 departments and 43 academic programs and research centers. The college provides the majority of the core curriculum for all University of Arkansas students.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the top 3% of U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.