Ohio Dominican to Host Former U.S. Ambassador

March 30, 2004

David J. Dunford

Ohio Dominican to Host Former US Ambassador David Dunford

COLUMBUS, OHIO - Former U.S. Ambassador and Woodrow Wilson Foundation Visiting Fellow David J. Dunford will speak at Ohio Dominican University on Thursday, April 22, 2004 at 7:30 p.m., in Wehrle Hall Gallery. His presentation is part of Ohio Dominican's Honors Program and of Ambassador Dunford's week-long stay at the University.

Ambassador Dunford served on the Reconstruction Team in Iraq following the war, in the position of Senior Coalition Representative to the Iraq Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His top priority in this position was to gain control of Iraq's 69 diplomatic posts abroad. Ambassador Dunford's lecture, entitled "Reflections on Iraq Reconstruction," will include his experiences in post-war Iraq and a question and answer period.

Ambassador Dunford retired from the U.S. Foreign Service in June 1995 following the completion of his assignment as U.S. Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman. Prior to that time, he served as Acting Ambassador in Saudi Arabia where he led a mission of more than 1,500 military and civilian personnel and worked with General Norman Schwarzkopf and his staff on the deployment of U.S. troops to Saudi Arabia following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

Ambassador Dunford also served as Director of Egyptian Affairs for the Department of State in Washington, D.C.; Chief of the American Embassy Economic Section in Cairo; and Deputy Assistant/U.S. Trade Representative in the Executive Office of the President. He specialized in international trade, international finance, and economic development.

Ambassador Dunford served as a U.S. member and coordinator of the MENABANK Transition Team in Cairo during fall 1997, continuing as nonresident coordinator through 1998. MENABANK was a proposed multilateral development bank created in the aftermath of the Madrid Peace Conference to serve the objectives of the peace process, creating cooperative outlets for Arab-Israeli interaction. The Transition Team included members from Japan, the Netherlands, Canada, Italy, Egypt, Jordan and Israel.

Ambassador Dunford is now an adjunct instructor at the University of Arizona where he teaches courses on the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Middle East Business Environment and Globalization and Global Government. He also serves on the Governing Board of the University of Arizona's Center for Middle Eastern Studies; the Board of the Tucson Committee on Foreign Relations; and as Chairman of the Board of the Association for International Practical Training.

Ambassador Dunford is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received a bachelor's degree in Economics, Politics and Engineering. He went on to Stanford University, where he earned two master's degrees, in Political Science and Economics.

The lecture will be held in the Wehrle Gallery on Ohio Dominican University's main campus at 1216 Sunbury Road. The event is free and open to the public, however reservations are encouraged. Reservations can be made by contacting Lynda Huey at 614.251.4610.