Leading experts in global security, economic statecraft, intelligence and technology, and related fields will headline a series of public talks at Dartmouth this fall.

The events, organized by the Davidson Institute for Global Security at the Dickey Center for International Understanding, include former Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson ’68; CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis ’06; a leading think tank’s expert on intelligence and emerging technologies; and a human rights activist who led student protestors in Tiananmen Square.

“We’re working to bring ideas to the policymakers who could benefit from our scholars’ insights, and to help our students—who are interested in public service—see the many pathways available for rewarding careers in policy,” says Daryl Press, faculty director of the Davidson Institute.

“Our fall lineup includes some of the most distinguished and experienced people in global peace and security,” says Victoria Holt, Norman E. McCulloch Jr. Director of the Dickey Center. “As the world shifts, we want to provide the Dartmouth community with a wide range of programming to better understand events and ideas that are shaping our future.”

Dartmouth launched the Davidson Institute in May 2025 to forge innovative approaches to international security research, promote engagement between scholars and policymakers, and prepare undergraduates to lead in the geopolitical arena.

The fall lineup of public events, two of which were initiated by the student-run Alexander Hamilton Society, includes:

• Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 5 p.m. in Haldeman Hall, AI, Cybersecurity, and National Defense: How Emerging Technologies Are Reshaping U.S. Security. The event featured Emily Harding, a former CIA official and National Security Council staffer who now serves as vice president of the defense and security department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Daryl Press moderated the talk, which was co-sponsored by the Alexander Hamilton Society.
   
• Monday, Oct. 12, at 5 p.m. in Haldeman Hall, Zhou Fengsuo, executive director of Human Rights in China, was one of the leading organizers of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. He will discuss activism, digital totalitarianism, and the future of China. Fengsuo was listed on the Chinese government’s most-wanted list and forced into exile in the United States. He has spent the decades since as an advocate for democracy in China. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required for in-person attendance and the livestream. The Alexander Hamilton Society is a co-sponsor.
   
• Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 5:30 p.m. in Filene Auditorium, Press will interview Michael Ellis ’06, deputy director of the CIA, about a wide range of issues affecting the current state of intelligence, including regional threats and artificial intelligence, in a talk entitled Intelligence in an Era of Strategic Change. Ellis was appointed deputy director in 2025 after holding a variety of other senior national security and White House positions. Before those roles Ellis was an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve. Tickets are required; the event will not be livestreamed. The talk is co-sponsored by the student-led Federalist Society.
   
• Thursday, Oct. 22, at 5 p.m. in Cook Auditorium, Henry Paulson ’68, who served as U.S. Treasury secretary from 2006 to 2009 and played a key role navigating the nation’s response to the financial crisis of 2008, will be in conversation with Emily Blanchard, professor of international economics at the Tuck School of Business and the faculty director of the International Security and Economics Pilot program at the Davidson Institute. A former CEO of Goldman Sachs, Paulson is the founder and chairman of the nonpartisan Paulson Institute, which focuses on global relationships that advance economic prosperity.
   
• Thursday, Oct 29, at 4 p.m. in Gilman Auditorium in the Hood Museum, AI and International Security and Conflict, as part of Dartmouth’s AI at 70: What Must Remain Human? conference. Panelists include Sasha Baker ’05, a Dickey Center board member, OpenAI’s head of national security policy and former acting undersecretary of defense for policy, and James Patton Rogers, lecturer in security and technology within the Department of War Studies at Kings College London and an expert on uncrewed combat systems and war. The panel will be moderated by former Ambassador Erica Barks Ruggles, Obenshain Family Distinguished Visitor and Diplomat in Residence at Dickey.

The undergraduate War and Peace Fellows will meet with each of the speakers. A key pillar of the Davidson Institute, the War and Peace Fellows program connects Dartmouth students with foreign policy leaders by arranging in-person, small-group meetings in Hanover, Washington, D.C., and around the world. “From our meetings in Hanover to our overseas trips,  our students gain invaluable insights into a wide range of foreign policy perspectives from a diverse group of leaders,” says Thomas Candon, senior associate director of the Davidson Institute.

“One of the Davidson Institute’s core objectives is connecting Dartmouth faculty and students to the policy community,” Press says. “When we bring a Henry Paulson, Michael Ellis, or Emily Harding to campus, we’re forging connections between scholarship and policy, and we’re introducing students to role models who have created rewarding careers in public service.”

The institute’s International Security and Economics Pilot sponsored its inaugural ISE distinguished speaker on Sept. 30. Matteo Maggiori, a professor of finance at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, delivered a lecture on Geoeconomics and the New International Economic Order.