Main Program

What is Main Program?

The MSC Wiley Lecture Series was founded in 1982 to bring some of the world’s most renowned public leaders, policy officials and academic experts to Texas A&M University. To this day, Main Program remains the central fixture of this mission.

Presented once a year, Main Program takes the form of a lecture or panel discussion presented in a large forum at Texas A&M. In the 40 years since its creation, Main Program is has welcomed a long list of notable figures, including U.S. Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter; Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger, Alexander Haig, Madeleine Albright, Condoleeza Rice and Mike Pompeo; former British Prime Ministers Edward Heath, James Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher and David Cameron; Mexican Presidents Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderón; and other noteworthy personalities, such as Mikhail Gorbachev, William F. Buckley and Walter Kronkite.

Between German chancellors, NASA administrators, network journalists and international spies, Wiley has welcomed all manner of remarkable individuals to the podium for Main Program, each sharing their unique perspectives and powerful ideas with Texas A&M students.

In recent years, the reach of the MSC Wiley Lecture Series has gradually expanded outside of the City of College Station. While Main Program typically boasts an in-house audience of around 2500 students and local community members, the event also receives widespread media coverage. The scope of the event itself has also grown; in its current form, Main Program usually involves an official Speaker Welcome, Student Leader Q&A and other affairs.

In 2020, Wiley hosted its first virtual Main Program, The Final Frontier, in lieu of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was followed by 2021’s U.S.-China Relations, featuring Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. In 2022, Main Program returned to its traditional in-person setting with A Conversation with David Cameron.

Three MSC Wiley guest speakers laughing and talking while seated on stage

2020 Main Programs

Defending Democracy: Resisting the Autocratic Wave (2025)

- Kevin McCarthy, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (2023)
- Ret. General Wesley Clark, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (1997-2000)
- Uzra Zeya, former U.S. Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, & Human Rights (2021-2025)
- John Sherman, Dean, Bush School of Government and Public Service (Moderator)

Rethinking American Intervention (2023)

- John Bolton, United States National Security Advisor (2018-2019)
- Kay Bailey Hutchison, former United States Ambassador to NATO (2017-2021)
- Juliette Kayyem, former Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Intergovernmental Affairs (2009-2010)

A Conversation with David Cameron (2022)

- Hnr. David Cameron, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (2010-2016)
- Mara Liasson, FOX News Political Analyst and NPR National Correspondent (Moderator)

U.S.-China Relations: Fears, Fortune, & the Future (2021)

- Dr. Robert M. Gates, 22^nd United States Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011
- Dr. William J. Norris, Associate Professor, George Bush School of Government (Moderator)

The Final Frontier: Conflict & Collaboration in Space (2020)

- Maj. Gen. Charles Bolden, 12^th Administrator of NASA
- David Korth, Deputy Manager of ISS Systems Office, Johnson Space Center
- Dr. Justin Bullock, Assistant Professor, George Bush School of Government
- Col. Michael Fossum’80, USAFR (Ret.), COO Texas A&M – Galveston and former Commander International Space Station (Moderator)

2010 Main Programs

Why Diplomacy Matters (2019)

- Mike Pompeo, 70^th United States Secretary of State from 2018 to 2021
- Jack Petroff, MSC Wiley Lecture Series Chair (Moderator)

Confronting a Nuclear North Korea (2018)

- Ambassador Christopher Hill, former Ambassador to South Korea
- Ambassador Nicholas Burns, former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
- General Robert Foglesong, former Commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe
- Dr. Douglas Brinkley, American Historian and Best-selling Author (Moderator)

America First? The Future of US-Mexico Relations (2017)

- Felipe Calderón, President of Mexico from 2006 to 2012
- Will Hurd, U.S. Representative for the 23rd Congressional District of Texas
- Dr. Laura Tyson, Director of National Economic Council from 1995 to 1996
- Steve Inskeep, Host of NPR Morning Edition (Moderator)

In Pursuit of Peace: An Israeli Palestinian Dialogue (2016)

- Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, Palestinian Legislative Council Executive
- Ehud Barak, former Prime Minister of Israel
- Janine Zacharia, Middle East Correspondent for the Washington Post (Moderator)

Guiding Those Who Govern (2015)

- David Axelrod, Former Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama
- Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary for President George W. Bush
- Roland Martin, Host of News One Hour (Moderator)

The Impacts of Modern American Politics (2014)

- Dr. Condoleezza Rice, Former U.S. Secretary of State
- Dr. Douglas Brinkley, American Historian and Best-selling Author (Moderator)

Boots Off The Ground: A 21st Century American Military (2013)

- General Stan McChrystal, former commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan
- Ryan Crocker, former Ambassador to Iraq and Afghanistan
- David Sanger, Chief Washington Correspondent for the New York Times (Moderator)

The Rise of the Rest: Embracing a Newer World Order (2012)

- Steve Forbes, CEO Forbes Media
- Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor

Globalization Goes South (2011)

- Vicente Fox, President of Mexico from 2000 to 2006
- Dr. Moises Naim, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Barbara Kasoff, CEO Women Impacting Public Policy (Moderator)

Chasing Al-Qaeda (2010)

- General Wesley Clark, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander
- Governor Tom Ridge, former and first Secretary of Homeland Security

2000 Programs

The First 100 Days (2009)

- Karl Rove, former Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to President George Bush
- Juan Williams, National Public Radio Correspondent/Fox News Contributor

Iraq: The Road Ahead (2008)

- Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, former Head of the Coalition Provisional Authority
- The Honorable Lee Hamilton, former Congressman and Co-Chair of the Iraq Study Group
- General Peter Pace (ret.), former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
- Bernard Kalb, Moderator, Veteran Journalist

The Honorable Rudolph W. Giuliani (2007)

- Rudolph Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City

Global Terrorism: Strategies for Defense (2006)

- Ehud Barak, former Prime Minister of Israel
- Anthony Lake, former National Security Advisor
- Steve Chapman, Moderator, Chicago Tribune Columnist

Preventing Conflict Abroad: Multilateralism or Unilateralism? (2005)

- The Honorable Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the US House of Representatives
- Ambassador Nancy Soderberg, former US Representative to the United Nations
- New York Times Columnist David Brooks, Moderator

Disarming Iraq (2004)

- Dr. Hans Blix, Chairman of the International Commission on Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Joe Brown, Moderator, KBTX News Anchor

Force and Diplomacy (2003)

- Dr. Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State
- Edward P. Djerejian, former Ambassador to Israel and Syria
- Dr. Charles F. Hermann, Moderator, Interim Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Associate Dean for International Affairs of the Bush School

A Conversation with Walter Cronkite (2002)

- Walter Cronkite, former CBS Evening News anchorman
- Donnis Baggett, Moderator, Publisher and Editor of The Eagle

Target Americans: Your Safety Abroad (2002)

- Thomas Hargrove, author of “Long March to Freedom”
- Bob Novak, panelist of the weekly CNN program, “The Capital Gang”
- Al Hunt, panelist of the weekly CNN program, “The Capital Gang”
- Margaret Carlson, panelist of the weekly CNN program, “The Capital Gang”
- Kate O’ Beirne, panelist of the weekly CNN program, “The Capital Gang”

Mikhail Gorbachev: Reflections of a World Leader (2001)

- Mikhail Gorbachev, former General Secretary of the Communist Party and President of the Soviet Union

The Waking Dragon (2000)

- Yuan Jian, Director of the American Studies Division at the China Institute of International Studies.
- Ambassador James R. Sasser, Ambassador to the Peoples Republic of China, 1995-1999
- Bernard Kalb, panelist of the weekly CNN program, Reliable Sources

1990 Main Programs

Changing of the Guard: National Security for the Post Cold War Era (1999)

- Robert M. Gates, former Director of Central Intelligence Agency
- Anthony Lake, former National Security Advisor
- Honorable Sam Nunn, former US Senator
- Charlie Rose, Moderator, The Charlie Rose Show and correspondent of 60 Minutes II

The Road to Stability: Africa in the Next Millennium (1998)

- F.W. de Klerk, former President of South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize Recipient
- Alan Gelb, Chief Economist of Africa for the World Bank
- Muna Ndulo, Expert on Human Rights, Trade and Investment in Developing Countries, former Public Prosecutor Zamiba Government
- General Charles G. Boyd, USAF, retired, former Deputy Commander-in-Chief US European Command
- Barrie Dunsmore, former Foreign Affairs Correspondent for ABC News

On the Front Line (1997)

- General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, retired

Framing American Policy (1996)

- Dan Quayle, former Vice President of the United States
- George Mitchell, former Senate Majority Leader
- Arthur Schlesinger, Pulitzer Prize Winning Historian
- Margaret Warner, Moderator, Anchor of The News Hour with Jim Lehrer

Crossing Into Uncertainty (1995)

- General Colin Powell, retired, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Global Policing (1994)

- Dr. Les Aspin, former US Secretary of Defense
- Dr. Jeane Kirkpatrick, former Ambassador to the United Nations
- William F. Buckley, Moderator, Syndicated Columnist

20th Century Insights: An Evening with Margaret Thatcher (1993)

- The Right Honorable Lady Margaret Thatcher, former British Prime Minister
- Dan Cordtz, Moderator, Financial World Magazine

New World. New Europe. New Defense? (1992)

- Adm. William J. Crowe, Jr., former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
- Dr. Antoni Kaminski, Director of the Polish Institute of Foreign Affairs
- Tamas Katona, Hungarian Diplomat
- Dr. Jean Rene Gehan, Counselor for Political and Military Affairs, French Embassy
- Dr. Vitaly Shiykov, Deputy Chairman, Russian Federation Committee on Defense
- Catherine Crier, Moderator, Chief Correspondent of Financial World Magazine

A North American Community Within Reach (1991)

- William Cavitt, U.S. State Department, Head Office of Canada
- John Hammill, Canadian Consul, Texas/Oklahoma Region
- Dr. German Von Bertrab, Head of Washington Office, Mexican Free Trade
- Larry Speakes, Moderator, former Deputy Press Secretary

The Changing Faces of Communism (1990)

- Andre Erdos, Hungarian Foreign Minister
- Nikolay Shishlin, Soviet Diplomat
- Andre Wieland, GDR Foreign Minister
- Witold Trzeciakowski, Economic Minister of Poland
- Kenneth Adelman, former Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency
- Sam Donaldson, ABC News (Moderator)

1980 Main Programs

The Middle East: Peace or Powder Keg (1989)

- Dr. James Jonah, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations
- Robert C. McFarlane, former National Security Advisor
- Adm. Stansfield Turner, former Director of the CIA
- Ed Bradley, Moderator, 60 Minutes Co-Anchor

Nuclear War: Thinking the Unthinkable (1988)

- The Right Honorable Lord Callaghan, former British Prime Minister
- Robert S. McNamara, former Secretary of Defense
- John Tower, US Senator
- William F. Buckley, Moderator, Syndicated Columnist

The Constitution and Foreign Policy: A Question of Control (1987)

- Dr. Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, former Ambassador to the United Nations
- Edmund Muskie, U.S. Senator
- Howard K. Smith, Moderator, ABC News Correspondent

US Interventionism: Resolving International Conflict (1986)

- Gerald R. Ford, former President of the United States
- Jimmy Carter, former President of the United States
- Dr. Stephen Ambrose, Historian
- George F. Will, Moderator, Syndicated Columnist

US Soviet Relations: The Quest for International Security (1985)

- Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Advisor
- Dr. James Schlesinger, former Secretary of Defense
- Arkady Shevchenko, former Soviet Ambassador to the United Nations

Perspectives on US Foreign Policy (1984)

- Alexander M. Haig, former Secretary of State
- Dr. Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State

The Future of the Western Alliance (1983)

- Gerald R. Ford, former President of the United States
- Edward Heath, former British Prime Minister
- Helmut Schmidt, former West German Chancellor
- Marvin Kalb, NBC Correspondent

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