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Reflections

George Shultz PhD '49: April 9, 2003; Running Time: 1:27:27

About the Lecture

About the Lecture

Former Secretary of State and MIT alum, George Shultz returned to MIT to accept the Robert A. Muh Award for his noteworthy achievements. In this talk he reflects on his time at MIT and expresses appreciation for the lessons he learned at MIT that influence him to this day.

Reflecting on the current state of the world, he discussed the complex interaction between strength and diplomacy, and says "the United States should equip itself militarily to be powerful enough so that no one in their right mind would want to challenge us".

He also declares the "use of forces for preemptive action should be reserved for cases of extreme danger". He talks about Iraq, the first Gulf War and the situation in North Korea, which he calls "a case where prevention has failed".

Lecture Details

Location: Bartos Theatre

About the Speaker

George Shultz PhD '49

Former Secretary of State

George P. Shultz is the Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Distinguished Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He served as the 60th United States Secretary of State from 1982 though 1989. He is a member of the board of directors of Bechtel Group, Fremont Group, Gilead Sciences, Unext.com, and Charles Schwab & Co. He is also chairman of the International Council of J. P. Morgan Chase and on the advisory committee of Infrastructureworld.

Shultz graduated from Princeton University in 1942, receiving a B.A. degree in economics. That year he joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served through 1945. In 1949, Shultz earned the Ph.D. in industrial economics from MIT and taught at MIT from 1948-1957. He is Chairman of the MIT Energy Initiative External Advisory Board and is also a member of the External Advisory board for MIT’s OpenCourseWare.