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The Honorable Tom Ridge, president and CEO of Ridge Global LLC, former Secretary of Homeland Security, and former Governor of Pennsylvania will deliver the 27th Annual Rev. Thomas J. Furphy Lecture at 7:30 p.m., on Wednesday, October 27, in Billera Hall at DeSales University. Ridge will speak on “Global Engagement: A Current Perspective of World Events.” The public talk will be followed by an audience question-and-answer session.
The event is open to the public free of charge, but tickets are required. For ticket reservations, please call 610-282-1100, ext. 1364.
About the Speaker
In 2001 Ridge became the first assistant to the President for Homeland Security. In 2003 he was name the first secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, a position he held until 2005. While serving in that position, Ridge managed an agency that, among other things, created new security measures at air, land and seaports; developed a national response system and recovery plan; and used technology to improve the sharing of information on a worldwide scale.
Before working for the U.S Department of Homeland Security, Ridge served as the Governor of Pennsylvania from 1995-2001. During his time in office, Ridge oversaw Pennsylvania’s economic growth and advancement in the areas of health care, education and the environment.
Ridge graduated with honors from Harvard University in 1967. He was drafted into the U.S. Army after his first year at The Dickinson School of Law. Ridge served as an infantry staff sergeant in the Vietnam War and was honored with several awards for his service, including the Bronze Star for Valor, the Combat Infantry Badge and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. After the war ended, Ridge returned to Dickinson where he earned his law degree. He was later elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served six terms.
Ridge is currently the president and CEO of Ridge Global LLC, a firm that specializes in helping businesses and governments meet various strategic and operational needs, including security, technology integration, and risk management. He is the author of The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege - And How We Can Be Safe Again (September 2009), which talks about the positive effect security and prosperity can have on societies around the world. Ridge is a member of the boards of the Institute for Defense Analyses and the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress and is currently the chairman of the National Organization on Disability and national co-chairman of the Flight 93 Memorial Fundraising Campaign.
About the Furphy Lecture Series
Established in 1983, the Furphy Lecture Series is named in memory of Father Thomas J. Furphy, O.S.F.S. (1912-1982). Fr. Furphy distinguished himself as a teacher of “National Problems,” during a career in education that spanned 38 years, and included schools in the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Allentown areas. The theme of the series is “National and International Problems.” Ridge joins an illustrious group of previous speakers including John Cardinal O’Connor, Jeanne Kirkpatrick, William Colby, Abba Eban, Lee Iacocca, Antonin Scalia, George F. Will, Vladmir Posner, William J. Bennett, Shimon Peres, Zbiniew Brzezinski, George Mitchell, Louis Freeh, Benazir Bhutto, Gen. Barry McCaffrey, William S. Cohen, Richard Armitage, John Ashcroft, Trent Lott, and Dr. William Poole.
Press Release: Former Secretary of Homeland Security and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge to Deliver Annual Furphy Lecture | Posted on: 9/22/2010
For more info:
Tom McNamara, Executive Director of Communications
DeSales University | 2255 Station Avenue | Center Valley, PA 18034
610.282.1100 x1219 | Tom.McNamara@desales.edu |
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