Robert Gates

DURHAM, N.C. - U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates will give a public lecture at 5 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 29, at Duke University.

Gates will deliver the Ambassador S. Davis Phillips Family International Lecture at Page Auditorium on Duke's West Campus. The talk will be followed by a brief question-and-answer session for students.

The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Tickets can be picked up on a first-come, first-served basis at the University Box Office in the Bryan Center starting Sept. 3 for Duke students, faculty and staff, and Sept. 8 for the general public. Tickets are limited to one per person.

Those unable to attend can view the event live online on Duke's Ustream channel, ustream.tv/dukeuniversity. Twitter users can discuss the speech in real time using the tag #dukelive.

"We are delighted to welcome Secretary Gates to Duke," said Duke President Richard H. Brodhead. "His leadership in government and higher education is a model of service to society. We look forward to his visit, and his speech."

Gates, who is the senior cabinet official responsible for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, is the only defense secretary in U.S. history to be asked by a newly elected president to remain in office.

"Secretary Gates is the most respected Secretary of Defense in recent memory," said Peter Feaver, director of the American Grand Strategy Program at Duke and a former special adviser for the National Security Council. "He has served ably and with great consequence during a critical period for American national security.

"It is a rare privilege and an exceptional opportunity for the entire Duke community," added Feaver, a political science professor who worked on national security issues at the White House when Gates joined the Bush Administration.

Parking for the lecture will be available in the Bryan Center parking garage for $5 per car.

The event is sponsored by the American Grand Strategy Program, the Triangle Institute for Security Studies, Duke's Office of Global Strategy and Programs, and Duke's "A World Together" initiative.