Former U.S. Ambassador and Penn State School of International Affairs professor to speak on building a career in diplomacy
Date & Time: October 28, 2014 | 11:30 PM – 11:30 PM
Location: Grandfather Clock Lounge in Atherton Hall
Dennis Jett, former U.S. Ambassador to Peru and Mozambique and Penn State School of International Affairs professor, will speak on developing a profession with the foreign-service. His talk “So you want to be a diplomat?”: Building a career with the U.S. State Department, will take place at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 28 at the Grandfather Clock Lounge in Atherton Hall on the Penn State campus. The event is co-sponsored by the Penn State School of International Affairs, Schreyer Honors College and the College of Liberal Arts.
Professor Jett joined the School of International Affairs after a career in the U.S. Foreign Service that spanned twenty-eight years and three continents. His experience and expertise focus on international relations, foreign aid administration, and American foreign policy. Professor Jett's career abroad began in 1973, when he was a political officer in the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He later spent several years in Africa, first as the deputy chief of mission in the U.S. Embassy in Malawi, and then as deputy chief of mission in the U.S. Embassy in Liberia, where he was the second ranking officer during the Liberian Civil War.
Professor Jett then became special assistant to the president and senior director for African Affairs at the National Security Council, where he was responsible for Africa policy during the first six months of the Clinton Administration. He went on to serve as the U.S. ambassador to Mozambique (from 1993-1996) and Peru (from 1996-1999).
Professor Jett was the Diplomat in Residence at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia from 1999-2000, through which he led election observation missions to Venezuela and Guatemala and conflict resolution efforts between Uganda and Sudan.