UNO’s annual Chuck Hagel Forum in Global Leadership took place last Monday, with a few changes.
The forum has taken place at UNO for the past two years. In its first two years, the event featured guest-speakers Joe Biden and former Secretary of State John Kerry. This year’s event featured former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge.
In the past, the forum was held in the Strauss Performing Arts Center on UNO’s campus. This year, just like many recent events, the forum took place online.
Joey Gruber, a student at UNO, attended the forum last year. Looking at the new format, she said there were pros and cons to hosting the event online.
“For the previous two, it’s kind of felt exclusive,” Gruber said. “The first year, it was like, ‘Get your tickets before they sell out,’ and last year I felt like it was less like that, so I think having it online it will feel much more accessible to all students.”
The Atlantic Council co-sponsored this year’s forum, making it available on their website. This means that not only was it available to more Omaha community members, but to people across the nation.
Ahead of the event, Secretary Hagel had mixed feelings about having the forum online.
“I think more people, many more people will see it,” Hagel said. “But I think we all still prefer to be in person.”
Given the state of the world right now, Hagel said the focus on global leadership is what’s important, no matter the format of the event.
“Everything is global today. So that means we’ve got to lead,” Hagel said. “Because if we do not lead, as we have led since World War Two, somebody else will lead. And somebody will take our place.”
