IHI Fall 2024 & Spring 2025 Events

Fall 2024 Events:

  • Nov. 11, 2024:  Darrell Blocker, the former Deputy Director of the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center, discussed “Intelligence and Policymakers: Observations of an Operations Officer.” Co-sponsors included the BU Division of Military Education.  Mr. Blocker, an Air Force veteran, was also be the keynote speaker at the Veterans’ Day Memorial Service at Marsh Chapel.
  • Nov. 04, 2024:  U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel George Greanias of the National Intelligence University discussed “How the United States Fights Wars: The Impact of the Goldwater Nichols Act.”  This presentation was based on LTC Greanias’s PhD thesis, parts of which are summarized in this article published in War on the Rocks in Sept. 2023.  Co-sponsors of his presentation included the BU Division of Military Education and Boston College Military and Veteran Support.  A reception follows LTC Greanias’s talk.

Spring 2024 Events:

  • April 09, 2025: Russo-Japanese War Conference:  IHI Fellow Dr. Grant Rhode is planning a first-rate one-day international conference entitled “A 120-Year Retrospective:  The Russo-Japanese War and Treaty of Portsmouth with Implications for Today” to be held at BU on April 09, 2025.  Co-sponsors include the BU Center for the Study of Asia, the Kilachand Honors College, and the BU Division of Military History.  More details will be posted as we near the date.

Announcements:

  • Sept. 26, 2024:  IHI has lost a good friend with the passing of David W. Hoffman who died on Sept. 24, 2024 after a long battle with cancer.  After graduating from BU, David went onto a successful career in global management consulting, becoming a leading energy expert.  In retirement, he audited courses at BU, and took his first class with me in the Pardee School in 2016.  He was so helpful to me and so popular with his fellow students (much younger than he) that he was dubbed the co-instructor.  He regularly gave a guest lecture at BU on the case of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, “the Atomic Spies,” which was a student favorite.  David had a wonderfully curious mind, an incredible ability to discern the wheat from the chaff, and a first-rate sense of humor.  His obituary may be found at this link.   

          — John D. Woodward, Jr.

  • May 14, 2024:  IHI wants to recognize the many years of prolific scholarship and dedicated service of Professor Cathal Nolan on the occasion of his retirement from Boston University.  Cathal played an instrumental role in the IHI from its early days working with Prof. William Keylor, serving initially as the Executive Director and then after Prof. Keylor’s retirement as IHI Director.  Like Bill, Cathal will remain an IHI Fellow and be honored as a Director Emeritus.
  • Mar. 21, 2024:  IHI extends special thanks to IHI Fellow Dr. Maria Robson-Morrow of Harvard University’s Belfer Center for giving a guest presentation on “Signals Intelligence in World War II” to Pardee School students.  Dr. Robson-Morrow has the unique ability to explain complicated technical topics (i.e., SIGINT) in terms that a nontechnical person (i.e., most Pardee IR students) can readily understand.
  • Jan. 08, 2024:  IHI is pleased to announce the appointments of Dr. Maria Robson-Morrow of Harvard University’s Belfer Center, and Dr. Michael Potter, a member of the Research Service of the Northern Ireland Assembly, as new IHI Fellows.  IHI Director John Woodward noted, “Dr. Robson-Morrow has been a frequent and popular guest lecturer at the Pardee School.  Dr. Potter visited us in 2022 to present several well-received talks on issues related to Northern Ireland and conflict resolution.  IHI welcomes both of these scholars.”
  • Dec. 14, 2024:  IHI is pleased to report that The Naval Review, the official journal of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy, has favorably reviewed Great Power Clashes Along the Maritime Silk Road, written by IHI Fellow, Dr. Grant Rhode.  According to the review, Rhode’s book “provides a highly interesting and informative read … It also features useful maps, charts and tables. This book will certainly appeal to anyone with an interest in the history of the Indo-Pacific region, its contemporary geopolitics, or the histories of the Ottoman Empire, India, China, Korea, or Japan.”  Dr. Rhode discussed his book on March 20, 2024 at BU; see the Events section below.
  • Dec. 11, 2024:  IHI is pleased to announce the appointments of Prof. Aimee Genell, Prof. Andrei Mamolea, and Prof. Rachel Nolan, all assistant professors at the Pardee School of Global Studies, as new IHI Fellows.  “Aimee, Andrei, and Rachel are first-rate scholars with a passion for international history. They are welcome additions to IHI and will greatly contribute to our efforts,” commented IHI Director John Woodward.

    Spring 2024 Semester Events: