Idaho State University Hosts the 45th Annual Frank Church Symposium on Sustainable Development

His Excellency Arun K. Singh delivering the keynote speech.

This year, Idaho State University held it's 45th annual Frank Church Symposium. The symposium is planned and executed by the International Affairs Council, a club comprised of Idaho State University students that hope to make a change in the world. The topic of the 2016 symposium was "Sustainable Development: Security, Health, Technology, and Environment in a Globalized World." The key speakers included local kidney doctor Fahim Rahim M.D., the Indian
ambassador to the United States His Excellency Arun K. Singh, and Emory University professor Rafi Ahmed, Ph.D.

The Symposium was first created to honor Frank Church. He served during World War II in India, Burma, and China. He then attended and graduated from Stanford University with a law degree, and returned to his home state of Idaho to practice law. He then served in the United States Senate from 1956 to 1981, where he served on many committees, then returned home to practice law until his death in 1984. Church was known for his intelligence and his sensitivity to American foreign affairs, and this symposium was created to encourage others to think about the future of United States foreign affairs.

 

Some of the past speakers at the Frank Church Symposium include General Amos "Joe" Jordan, who spoke in 2013 on different challenges facing the United States, Sara Roy, who spoke in 2014 on the Gaza and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, and Charles "Charley" Metcals, a former ISU Alumnus who spoke in 2015 about cross cultural communication as viewed from a national security perspective. Each year, the IAC tries to select a topic related to current events and generate discussion in the community.