Former U.S. Sen. John Kerry, secretary of state in former President Barack Obama’s administration and 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, will be the Belnick Family LaFeber/Lowi Presidential Forum speaker Oct. 29 at 5 p.m. The virtual event is open to those with a Cornell NetID; registration is required.

The event, “A Conversation with John Kerry, 68th Secretary of State (2013-2017)” is sponsored by the departments of Government and History in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) and organized by Cornell’s nonpartisan Institute of Politics and Global Affairs. The event will be a discussion with former Congressman Steve Israel, director of the institute and professor of practice in the Department of Government, followed by questions from students.

“The mission of the Institute of Politics and Global Affairs is to provide Cornell students with access to key decision-makers on both sides of the aisle. We’ve featured everyone from Reince Priebus, President Donald Trump’s former chief of staff, to Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi,” Israel said. “Secretary Kerry will give students an unparalleled view of global affairs that have become more volatile and complex than ever.”

“Having come within a whisker of the presidency in 2004, and having served our nation both in President Obama’s Cabinet and in the U.S. Senate, including as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, Secretary Kerry can offer unique insight into the challenges facing the winner of the presidential election and their implications on a global stage,” said Douglas Kriner, the Clinton Rossiter Professor in American Institutions (A&S) and the institute’s faculty director.

The Belnick Family LaFeber/Lowi Presidential Forum honors the teaching and scholarship of Professors Walter LaFeber and Theodore Lowi and seeks to foster student engagement with American politics.

The forum supports programming around each U.S. presidential election to foster public engagement with the core issues facing the United States and the world as Americans head to the polls. The forum is supported by the generosity of Mark Belnick ’68.

Linda B. Glaser is news and media relations manager for the College of Arts and Sciences.