Last Lecture Series to Feature Political Science Prof Simon Serfaty

After receiving numerous faculty nominations, Old Dominion's Career Management Center has chosen political science professor Simon Serfaty to give the 2014 installment of the Last Lecture series.

The ODU Last Lecture series adopts the premise, "If this was your very last lecture to students, what would you say?" The forum gives professors an opportunity to reflect on career and life lessons.

Serfaty's lecture, "Farewell to Yesteryear: Memories of Your Futures," begins at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 3, in Webb Center's Future Monarchs Presentation Room (1102). The event is free and open to the public. For more information, or to RSVP, call 683-4229 or email byi@odu.edu.

The ODU series is drawn from an inspirational lecture Carnegie Mellon University professor Randy Pausch gave in 2007 after learning he had terminal pancreatic cancer. Following the upbeat and humorous speech, in which he provided life advice to students and colleagues, Pausch wrote a book on a similar topic and gained far-reaching notoriety.

Serfaty is an Eminent Scholar at ODU, where he is a senior professor of U.S. foreign policy. He is also the Zbigniew Brzesinski Chair (emeritus) at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, a leading think tank in Washington, D.C.

Serfaty's most recent books include: "Un monde nouveau en manque d'Amérique" (2014), "A World Recast: An American Moment in a Post-Western World" (2013), "Architects of Delusion: Europe, America and the Iraq War" (2007) and "The Vital Partnership" (2005). In addition, he has published more than 100 essays and articles in leading journals and has been a guest speaker in about 50 countries abroad.

Serfaty, who was appointed a Knight of the French Legion of Honor, has provided expert testimony before the U.S. Congress, worked as an occasional consultant for the U.S. government and served as a witness for European national legislatures.