Published: Nov. 28, 2000

Judith Kipper, an internationally known expert on issues in the Middle East including Arab-Israeli relations and the peace process, will visit the University of Colorado at Boulder campus Dec. 5 and Dec. 6 as a guest of the World Affairs Athenaeum program.

Kipper will talk about "Threats and Challenges: Assessing U.S. Interests in the Middle East" during a public forum Tuesday, Dec. 5, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Eaton Humanities Building, room 150.

"Judith Kipper presents a conservative, female perspective on an issue and region of the world that we expect will be of great interest to the campus and larger community," said Hadley Evans, one of two student Athenaeum fellows responsible for inviting guests to CU-Boulder.

In 1990 Kipper, who is a consultant on international affairs for ABC News, went with Peter Jennings to Baghdad and negotiated an interview for him with Saddam Hussein. She also testified as an expert witness before congressional committees during the Gulf crisis in the early 1990s. In the mid-1990s she participated in the Middle East and North Africa Economic Summits.

Kipper is co-director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. The center is a public policy research institution that maintains resident experts on all the worldÂ’s major geographical regions.

The Athenaeum, launched last February, is an extension of the annual World Affairs Conference at CU-Boulder and is designed to create a more intimate setting for visitors and students to meet and discuss world affairs and new ideas. During the fall 2000 semester, the program has brought German film director Werner Herzog and author Jedediah Purdy to campus and plans to have more visitors during the spring semester, according to Athenaeum fellow Adam Van Iwaarden.

During her two-day visit, Kipper will attend several classes and a formal dinner with CU-Boulder students and faculty. For more information about the Athenaeum call (303) 492-2525.