Blackburn Institute

Gen. Wesley Clark to Serve as 2006 Frank A. Nix Lecturer

September 15, 2006

Retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark will present the Blackburn Institute’s Frank A. Nix Lecture on Friday, Oct. 13. The program will be at 4 p.m. in Sellers Auditorium of the Bryant Conference Center. The public is invited.

Those unable to attend will be able to watch live via a webcast. A link will be available the day of the event at: http://www.ua.edu/webcast/.

Gen. Wesley Clark
During 34 years of service in the United States Army, Clark rose to the rank of four-star general as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. After his retirement in 2000, he became an investment banker, author, commentator, and businessman. In September 2003 he entered politics as a Democratic candidate for president of the United States. His campaign won the state of Oklahoma before he returned to the private sector in February 2004.

In his final military command, Clark commanded Operation Allied Force, NATO’s first major combat action, which saved 1.5 million Albanians from ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. He was also responsible for the peacekeeping operation in Bosnia.

Clark’s awards and honors include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the State Department Distinguished Service Award, the U.S. Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and Honorary Knighthoods from the British and Dutch governments.

He is the author of two books: Waging Modern War: Bosnia, Kosovo and the Future of Combat (Public Affairs, New York, 2001) and Winning Modern War: Iraq, Terrorism and the American Empire (Public Affairs, New York, 2003).

Clark graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1966 and completed two degrees at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. He is also a graduate of the Ranger and Airborne schools.

He currently serves in leadership roles with a number of non-profit public service organizations, including the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Center for American Progress, the International Crisis Group, City Year Little Rock, the National Endowment for Democracy, the United States Institute of Peace, and the General Accountability Office.

More information can be found on the website of WesPAC (http://www.securingamerica.com), the political action committee formed by Clark in 2004.

Frank A. Nix Lecture
The Frank A. Nix Lecture honors the memory of Frank Albert Nix, a UA graduate, business leader and member of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. Nix died tragically in an airplane crash in 1996, the same year he had been honored as the alumnus of the year by the UA National Alumni Association.

A native of Walker County, Nix earned his undergraduate degree in finance from UA’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration and his M.B.A. from Samford University. He founded Arlington Properties in 1969 and the company is now considered one of the premier privately owned apartment development companies in the Southeast.

The Nix Lecture was established by the Blackburn Institute to explore ethical leadership in the national arena.

Contact Information
Cheree Causey
UA Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs
Advisor to the Blackburn Institute
205-348-3277
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Cathy Andreen
UA Director of Media Relations
205-348-8322
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