Defense Secretary Gates to speak at Duke

The Pentagon chief will hold the lecture in Duke's Page Auditorium at 5 p.m. Students will then get a brief question-and-answer session.

“We are delighted to welcome Secretary Gates to Duke,” Duke President Richard H. Brodhead said in a statement. “His leadership in government and higher education is a model of service to society."

Gates has said recently that evidence is building that the Obama administration’s surge strategy is working in Afghanistan. He is the only defense secretary in U.S. history to be asked by a newly elected president to remain in office.

“Gates is the most respected Secretary of Defense in recent memory,” said Peter Feaver, director of the American Grand Strategy Program at Duke and a former special adviser for the National Security Council. “He has served ably and with great consequence during a critical period for American national security.

“It is a rare privilege and an exceptional opportunity for the entire Duke community," added Feaver.

Tickets to see Gates in person have all been given out, but tickets are still available for to see a livestream of the speech in Reynolds Theater. Tickets can be picked up from the Duke box office at 615 Chapel Drive.

The event is sponsored by the American Grand Strategy Program, the Triangle Institute for Security Studies, Duke’s Office of Global Strategy and Programs and Duke’s “A World Together” initiative.