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The Future of Homeland Security

Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano will speak at Sanford School Thursday

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.  Photo by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill.
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. Photo by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill.

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano will speak at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy on Thursday, Oct. 20

The 5:30 p.m. event in Sanford's Fleishman Commons is free and open to the public, and is part of the school's Terry Sanford Distinguished Lecture series, which brings notable leaders to speak on Duke's campus.

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The event will also be streamed live on Duke Today and Duke's Ustream channel, http://www.ustream.tv/dukeuniversity.

As the third Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Napolitano leads the collective efforts to secure the country from threats ranging from terrorism to natural disasters. 

Prior to becoming secretary, Napolitano was in her second term as governor of Arizona and was recognized as a national leader on homeland security, border security and immigration. She was the first woman to chair the National Governors Association and was named one of the top five governors in the country by Time magazine. She was also the first female attorney general of Arizona and served as U.S. attorney for the District of Arizona.

The event will highlight DHS' five mission areas: preventing terrorism and enhancing security; securing and managing U.S. borders; enforcing and administering immigration laws; safeguarding and securing cyberspace; and disaster preparedness. The event will feature a conversation involving Napolitano and Duke professors David Schanzer and Noah Pickus about the challenges of fulfilling these missions while protecting the privacy and civil rights of the American public.

Napolitano will be introduced at the event by U.S. Rep. David Price of North Carolina, the ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee. Price was a Duke professor of political science and public policy before being elected to Congress 25 years ago.

Schanzer directs the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security and teaches courses on counterterrorism strategy, counterterrorism law and homeland security. Before coming to Duke, he was the Democratic staff director for the House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security from 2003-05.

Pickus is the Nannerl O. Keohane Director of the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke. He writes extensively on issues of immigration, citizenship and national identity and has advised the United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Smith-Richardson Foundation and other public and private organizations.

The Terry Sanford Distinguished Lecture is presented by the Sanford School of Public Policy.  This event is co-sponsored by the Triangle Center for Terrorism and Homeland Security and Duke's Program on American Grand Strategy. Free parking is available in the Science Drive visitor's lot.