Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray will visit the University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy on Friday, December 2 as the 2022 Josh Rosenthal Memorial Speaker.
In 2002, the Ford School received a gift from the family and friends of Josh Rosenthal, a University of Michigan graduate who was killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center. The Rosenthal Lecture has since become an important moment of the University’s academic year, intended to promote understanding of international relations, human rights, security, and conflict resolution in our post-9/11 world.
Director Wray will give brief remarks, followed by faculty and student experts posing questions to the director on topics including cybersecurity, civil liberties, domestic violent extremism, and more.
The event will be available to the public via livestream. In-person attendance is limited to Ford School faculty, students, and staff.
“The FBI is at the center of so many urgent and complicated policy challenges, and I'm looking forward to hearing what questions our students have for the director,” said Celeste Watkins-Hayes, Interim Dean of the Ford School.
Ann Chih Lin, Ford School associate professor and director of the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies, will be among the faculty experts facilitating the public talk.
"Director Wray has been a prominent voice warning about dangers to the U.S. that originate from other countries, such as economic espionage from China or migration increases at the southern border of the U.S.,” Lin said. “Our students and faculty are passionate about these issues, so we are looking forward to the opportunity to engage with him."
In addition to the public talk, Director Wray will meet with a small group of public policy students earlier that morning to share insights on his career and path to leadership. That conversation will be facilitated by Javed Ali, Ford School associate professor of practice and former senior FBI counterterrorism analyst.
More information on this special event and how to tune in for the livestream will be available on the Ford School website.
