Former CIA Director James Wolsey and former CIA agent Reuel Marc Gerecht are among the six Winter term speakers announced yesterday by the Montgomery Endowment. This year's theme is "American Intelligence in the Twenty-First Century."
Other speakers include Pulitzer Prize-winning writer David Vise, author Joseph Persico, former director of the National Infrastructure Protection Center Michael Vatis and National Security Council member Philip Chase Bobbitt.
Executive Director Barbara Gerstner of the Montgomery Endowment said that the theme "is a result of Sept. 11. I was looking into another theme, and this series came up, and this seemed to be the ideal time to do it."
Woolsey, a Washington lawyer, served as director of the CIA from 1993 to 1995. He served as Undersecretary of the Navy, held several diplomatic posts and has been in leadership positions at several corporations and foundations.
The first of the term's speakers will be former CIA Middle East Specialist Gerecht. In addition to his time with the intelligence organization, Gerecht wrote for several newspapers and served as the CBS News consultant on Afghanistan from 1999-2000.
Gerstner said that "they call him a CIA Middle East expert, which I think is another word for spy."
Vise, a Pulitzer-prize winning reporter, covers the FBI and the Justice Department for the Washington Post.
His most recent book, "The Bureau and the Mole," discusses Robert Hansen's role as a Russian spy in the FBI. He also contributed to a book on the Securities and Exchange Commission and insider trading scandals.
Joseph Persico served as speechwriter for New York Governor and U.S. Vice President Nelson Rockefeller from 1966 to 1977.
Persico later wrote several books on the history of espionage, and helped Secretary of State Colin Powell publish his 1995 autobiography.
"Persico covered a lot of the war, World War II, so he's more of a historian," Gerstner said.
Michael Vatis is the director of the Institute for Security Technology at Dartmouth. Before holding his current post, Vatis served as the first director of the National Infrastructure Protection Center, which works to prevent and protect against computer crimes, and was an attorney with the Departments of Justice and Defense.
The final speaker, Philip Chase Bobbitt, was the Senior Director for Strategic Planning at the National Security Council and the NSC's director of intelligence. In addition to his many government duties, Bobbitt has been a member of the faculty at the University of Texas since 1976.
This term's speakers were suggested and contacted by Robert Wilson '63.
The speakers this term are not traditional Montgomery Fellows, Gerstner said, adding that, "I'm going to call them speakers, because they're not staying long enough."
Gerstner also said that an announcement of the Spring term speakers will come shortly, though she does not want to distract attention from the "really exciting lineup coming this term."
The Montgomery Endowment was established in 1977 by Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Montgomery '25 to "provide for the advancement of the academic realm of the College" and has since focused on bringing accomplished academic and non-academic figures to Dartmouth.
Past Montgomery Fellows have included anthropologist Richard Leakey, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Polish politician Lech Walesa, former President Gerald Ford and singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow.
