The Santa Fe World Affairs Forum aims to broaden and deepen understanding of world affairs through small, interactive, professionally led sessions on international issues for a membership of informed individuals.
Next Program
Fulbright, Peace Corps and Higher Education: America’s Global Smart Power Under Assault, How Best to Respond
Wednesday, October 15, 2025 from 12:00 noon – 2 pm
Kevin Quigley
Kevin Quigley is former college president of Marlboro College where he led its merger with Emerson College. As president of the National Peace Corps Association, he led the national campaign resulting in the Peace Corps’ largest appropriation increase in history. He has been a three-time Fulbright Senior Specialist and a Fulbright Association board member and was the first executive director of the Global Alliance for Workers and Communities, where he pioneered a tri-sectoral partnership among global corporations, governments, and civil society organizations designed to improve global workplace conditions.
He is co-founding editor of Fulbright Chronicles, a global, independent, peer- reviewed journal by and for Fulbrighters (www.fulbright-chronicles.com); and with his wife, Susan Flaherty, founded the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation www.peacecorpscommemorative.org), now a Peace Corps community effort to build the Peace Corps Park near the National Mall as a testament to the historic and enduring importance of service and international understanding in the United States’ engagement with the world.
He has extensive teaching and publishing experience on international service, democratization, and higher education issues. Quigley has served on various university boards, including the New England Board of Education, American University of Nigeria, American University of Afghanistan, Parami University (Myanmar), and Swarthmore College. He has degrees from Georgetown University, Columbia University, University College Dublin, and Swarthmore College.
Registration: This SFWAF lunch is $26 for members and $36 for nonmembers. You may pay by check made out to SFWAF and mailed to The Santa Fe World Affairs Forum, Santa Fe, PO Box 31965, NM 87594 or with a credit card using our Paypal account. Please indicate on your check or if using Paypal please note in “add special instructions to the seller” that your payment is for the Thursday, October 16, 2025 program.
Members: if you have not yet paid your 2025-26 membership dues, you may include the $50 per person annual dues in your payment for this program, but please also note in special instructions that dues are included. Because we are a 501(c)(3) organization, dues and contributions are tax deductible in accordance with IRS regulations.
If you are not a member or
ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM 2023
Thursday April 13 and Friday April 14, 2023
When Ukraine Meets Russia Head-On
When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, no one believed that a supposedly weak Ukraine could maintain its independence. As for Vladimir Putin, he expected to topple the Zelenskyy government in a matter of days—or less. And so, flagrantly violating the norms and laws that had promoted world peace and stability for 70 some years, a heavily armored column of Russian troops headed for Kiev. They never got there.
How could Putin have got it so wrong? Hubris, of course, but mostly miscalculation. Putin never expected to confront a brave and fervently patriotic population, a revamped military and the ingenuity and bravery of Ukraine’s civilian and military leadership. Nor did he anticipate a rejuvenation of NATO (Turkey and Hungary excepted) united in support of Ukraine, thus enabling a massive flow of Ukraine-bound weaponry from its arsenals. Or that his invasion would result in neutral Finland’s and Sweden’s applications for NATO membership.
It’s too early to predict the shape of a post-invasion Ukraine. Nor can we be certain that Russia will never again seek to roll back history by invading apparently weak neighbors. But one thing is certain. Putin and his army are being humiliated. He won’t get what he aimed for in Ukraine. Moreover, this conflict’s international ramifications – testing the foundations of the world order – are massive.
Past Event
Annual Symposium 2018
April 9 – 10, 2018
When Ukraine Meets Russia Head-On
To register for the 2023 Symposium, please email sfwaforum@outlook.com with names of registrants, days attending and whether paying by check to SFWAF and mailed to: The Santa Fe World Affairs Forum PO Box 31965, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87594. Or to by Paypal or credit card through our website at https://sfwaf.org/payment
April 13-14, 2023
Speakers
Ambassador William B Taylor, Vice President for Russia and Europe, US Institute for Peace, former US Ambassador to Ukraine;
Juha Makkikali, Finnish Honorary Consul, Denver, CO;
Dr. Gary M Grossman, Professor, School for the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State University and former Fulbright professor (in Turkey);
Dr. Nancy Lubin, President, JNA Associates, Inc a research/consulting firm on the former USSR, especially Caucasus/Central Asia;
Siegfried S Hecker, Professor of Practice, Texas A&M University and Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, CA, Professor Emeritus, Stanford University and Director Emeritus, Los Alamos National Laboratory;
Ambassador(rtd) Larry C Napper, Professor of the Practice Emeritus of International Affairs, Bush School of Government and Public Service, US Foreign Service (1974-2004) including service as Director of the Office of Soviet Union Affairs, US Department of State and US Ambassador to Latvia and Kazakhstan;
John Holden, Sr. Managing Director, China Practice, McClarty and Associates.
Summary
When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, no one believed that a supposedly weak Ukraine could maintain its independence. As for Vladimir Putin, he expected to topple the Zelenskyy government in a matter of days—or less. And so, flagrantly violating the norms and laws that had promoted world peace and stability for 70 some years, a heavily armored column of Russian troops headed for Kiev. They never got there.
How could Putin have got it so wrong? Hubris, of course, but mostly miscalculation. Putin never expected to confront a brave and fervently patriotic population, a revamped military and the ingenuity and bravery of Ukraine’s civilian and military leadership. Nor did he anticipate a rejuvenation of NATO (Turkey and Hungary excepted) united in support of Ukraine, thus enabling a massive flow of Ukraine-bound weaponry from its arsenals. Or that his invasion would result in neutral Finland’s and Sweden’s applications for NATO membership.
It’s too early to predict the shape of a post-invasion Ukraine. Nor can we be certain that Russia will never again seek to roll back history by invading apparently weak neighbors. But one thing is certain. Putin and his army are being humiliated. He won’t get what he aimed for in Ukraine. Moreover, this conflict’s international ramifications – testing the foundations of the world order – are massive. Symposium Schedule
Santa Fe Community College Jemez Rooms – #231-2
9:00-9:30 Registration
9:30-10:00
Welcome, SFCC President Dr. Rebecca Rowley, Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber, Dr. Patricia H Kushlis, President, Santa Fe World Affairs Forum
10:00-11:30
Opening Speaker: Ambassador rtd William B. Taylor, USIP
Talk Title: Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: Why Ukraine Must Win Ambassador Taylor will argue that Ukraine’s victory
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