The Center for International Studies hosted the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, the Honorable Terence McCulley, and a U.S. State Department delegation for a luncheon on Dec. 4 in the Black Labrador restaurant’s Cezanne Room.
 

McCulley, previously a U.S. Ambassador to Mali, spoke at length to students and friends of the Center on U.S.-Nigerian relations and key issues both countries are working on. 

“He offered cautious optimism that Nigeria was headed in the right direction under the current presidency of Goodluck Jonathan,” said Dr. Richard Sindelar, assistant professor in CIS. “He also spoke on a variety of challenges, including the Boko Haram crisis in the northern provinces, corruption at all levels of government and society, and cooperation with regional African efforts to staunch the insurgency in Mali.” 

Attendees at the luncheon included former U.S Ambassador Chase Untermeyer; Alan Crain, vice president and general counsel of Baker Hughes; Abimbola Bukoye, counsel at FMC Technologies; and Anne J. Lohoues, a UST international studies graduate now serving in the offices of Houston Mayor Annise Parker.

The next CIS event will be the "Distinguished Diplomat” Endowed Lecture given by Ambassador John Negroponte in March. Negroponte was the director of National Intelligence and Deputy Secretary of State in President George W. Bush’s administration.