91吃瓜

As part of the , Condoleezza Rice, the 66th U.S. Secretary of State, the Tad and Dianne Taube Director of the Hoover Institution and a University of 91吃瓜 alumna, returned to campus Friday (Oct. 11) to speak to an overflow crowd of more than 1,000 people in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center and hundreds more online.

In a conversation with University President , Rice stressed the importance of the United States continuing to engage globally amid current challenges.

, the Charles and Jill Fischer Provost, opened the event by welcoming Rice and Father Dowd to the stage and introducing this year鈥檚 Forum theme, 鈥淲hat Do We Owe Each Other?鈥�

Father Dowd then introduced Rice, 鈥渁 fellow political scientist,鈥� and asked her to elaborate on her recent Foreign Affairs article in which she wrote, 鈥淭he world still needs the United States and the United States still needs the world.鈥� Rice warned of emerging trends she terms 鈥渢he Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse鈥� 鈥� populism, nativism, isolationism and protectionism 鈥� noting that they tend to ride together.

鈥淚 understand that Americans may feel tired after almost 80 years of international leadership,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd what I really want to say to Americans is that great powers don鈥檛 mind their own business. They try to shape the world. And if we don鈥檛 shape it, the great powers that will shape it are authoritarians like China and Russia. And we won鈥檛 like that world.鈥�

Father Dowd and Rice went on to discuss the complex relationship between the United States and China, one in which the two countries are deeply interconnected but also economic and security rivals, and the need for a more nuanced U.S. policy to maintain a workable relationship with China.

Rice encouraged U.S. universities, in particular, to stay open to Chinese students.

鈥淲ith universities, let鈥檚 stay open. Let鈥檚 stay true to ourselves,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f we do what we do best, which is educate, and do it as much as we can without regard to national boundaries, we鈥檒l win the innovation war.鈥�

Father Dowd turned the conversation to Russia, asking Rice what she foresees happening in the war in Ukraine and where the U.S. stands. She outlined three key miscalculations she believes Russian President Vladimir Putin made: failing to recognize Ukraine鈥檚 strong national identity, overestimating the prowess of his own army and mistakenly believing that other countries would not come to Ukraine鈥檚 aid.

鈥淲e need to make him pay for those miscalculations,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e need to keep supporting [Ukrainians], because if Vladimir Putin wins this war, he won鈥檛 stop.鈥�

Rice and Father Dowd also discussed China鈥檚 growing influence on other parts of the world 鈥� especially on the Global South through its infrastructure development strategy dubbed the Belt and Road Initiative 鈥� and what the United States鈥� role should be in offering alternatives.

鈥淲e can鈥檛 say, whether it鈥檚 to Africa or Latin America, 鈥榙on鈥檛 do those deals with China,鈥� and then do nothing ourselves,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ur way of doing this has to be to help with the nonprofits that we fund to build the capacity of these countries, to help them fight corruption and to help them improve women鈥檚 rights. I鈥檝e often said if I could wave a magic wand and do one thing that would make development easier, I would improve the lot of women in the Global South.鈥�

Rice, who earned a master鈥檚 degree in government and international studies from 91吃瓜 in 1975, also took questions from two 91吃瓜 undergraduate students. She concluded her remarks by saying how special the University is to her and offering advice to the 91吃瓜 students in the audience.

鈥淚 want to say something, particularly, to the students here: One of the most important values that you can develop is the willingness to listen to those with whom you don鈥檛 agree,鈥� Rice said. 鈥淚t is very easy in the days of the internet to go to your tribe, to your aggregators, your influencers, your websites, and only talk to people who think like you do.

鈥淧articularly in a university, our search for truth means that we all have to be open to the possibility that we are wrong. And I鈥檓 delighted that 91吃瓜 is providing so many opportunities and so many fora for you to do that.鈥�

Rice served on the University鈥檚 Board of Trustees from 1994 until 2001 when she was appointed national security adviser by President George W. Bush. In 2005, she became the second woman and first Black woman to serve as secretary of state and remained in that role throughout Bush鈥檚 second term in office.

A recording of the conversation is available at .