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Sponsored Conferences and Symposia
The Olmsted Foundation annually povides financial support to each of the three Military Academy international conferences and symposia. Additionally, The Foundation coordinates for Olmsted Scholars to participate as regional area experts, and to serve as Senior Panel and Round Table discussion leaders. The three conferences occur at various times during the year and include; the United States Air Force Academy's Academy Assembly, the United States Naval Academy's Naval Academy Foreign Affairs Conference (NAFAC), and the United States Military Academy's Student Conference on United States Affairs (SCUSA). ------------------------------------------------- The Academy Assembly is held in early October at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. USAF Academy Assembly Summary Student roundtables are the core of the Assembly. Students meet in 10-member roundtables to consider topics related to the annual theme. Distinguished experts in that field facilitate the roundtables. During the roundtable sessions, delegates will seek a consensus on the topic questions. Each roundtable builds on the previous one, tackling a different aspect of the central theme. At the end of every roundtable, members will draft a paragraph to form a consensus on opinnions of these pressing issues. The keynote address, informal discussions and roundtable deliberations provide delegates and senior participants the opportunity to learn from and interact with distinguished persons directly involved in our national policy making process. The annual Assemblies bring together a diverse group of scholars, senior government executives, theorists and practitioners. Roundtable leaders will also provide presentations to the delegates in an area of their interest and expertise. Delegates can choose to attend several presentations. A downloadable document of topic readings is provided for every year's conference. Objectives: • Provide a forum for meaningful assessment of major international and national issues, including a consensus-building exercise • Produce an insightful, valuable final report for publication and dissemination to universities and government agencies across the United States • Offer a superior leadership experience to cadets in planning and executing a major operation • Enrich the education of all students who participate in the Assembly as delegates • Improve civil-military relations by promoting a positive image of the Air Force and the Academy to the delegates and distinguished senior participants ------------------------------------------------- The Naval Academy Foreign Affairs Conference (NAFAC) occurs each year during the month of April on the grounds of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. NAFAC Summary Since 1961, the Naval Academy Foreign Affairs Conference (NAFAC) has provided an annual forum for outstanding undergraduates to meet and discuss major contemporary issues. The Conference has become a way of bringing together the nation’s future Navy and Marine Corps officers with their peers from other colleges and universities, both civilian and military, from across the country and around the world. All NAFAC delegates, upon nomination from their respective universities, are afforded the opportunity to engage in lively discussions, hear renowned experts on the issues, share their own personal views on world events, and learn more about the United States Naval Academy and the U.S. Naval Service. The Naval Academy Foreign Affairs Conference attracts distinguished speakers each year. Recent guests include: President George H. W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Stephen Hadley, General Wesley Clark, Vice President Joseph Biden and Henry Kissinger. 2010 will mark the 50th year of the Naval Academy Foreign Affairs Conference. Past years have focused on topics such as Africa, the Middle East, Terrorism, the Role of Technology in International Relations, as well as many others. ------------------------------------------------- West Point's Student Conference on United States Affairs (SCUSA) takes place in November in West Point, New York, at the United States Military Academy. SCUSA is a 4-day conference held annually to facilitate interaction and constructive discussion between student delegates in order for them to better understand the intricacies of the challenges that the United States faces in a global society. The product is a policy proposal to be shared with the rest of the conference and beyond through a new partnership with the Undergraduate Journal of Social Sciences. SCUSA Summary The initial suggestion that a student conference be held at the United States Military Academy was made by cadets of the West Point Debate Council in the spring of 1949. The following autumn, their suggestion matured into the USMA Student Conference on United States Affairs. Today the conference is organized and administered by the faculty of the Department of Social Sciences. SCUSA has grown in size and in the scope of its geographical representation since its inception. In 1949, SCUSA had 126 delegates from 53 schools concentrated in the Northeast. Last year's SCUSA hosted 223 students from 125 schools throughout the United States and Canada, 14 delegates from foreign military schools, and 33 Fulbright scholars representing 30 countries. Eighty United States Military Academy cadets participated as delegates and approximately 120 cadets assisted in organization, logistics, and administration. Financial support for the first five conferences was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Support for subsequent conferences has been provided by private sources and by contributions from the Cadet Debate Council and Forum. The George and Carol Olmsted Foundation, the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, Inc., the Banbury Fund, the Ross Perot Fund, the Annenberg Foundation, and the West Point Fund have been among the major private donors to SCUSA. We are proud to say that SCUSA will be supported in perpetuity by USMA Class of 1971. For a number of years, the conference organization has remained generally the same. A proven format has evolved which effectively accomplishes the following conference objectives: a) To produce an informative examination and discussion of selected aspects of United States public policy. SCUSA has primarily been a conference on foreign relations. b) To facilitate an increased appreciation for the complex nature of the policy-making process among a group of outstanding college students. c) To broaden the student participants' contact with their contemporaries in an academic endeavor. The Military Academy continues to sponsor the Student Conference on United States Affairs in the belief that it can foster the growth of mutual understanding among the potential civilian and military leaders of the country and thus make a significant contribution toward the future security of the United States. The official record of the conference, the Proceedings, was published annually by the Military Academy until 1992 and may be found in university and public libraries across the country. Beginning in 1993, the Round Table Reports replaced the Proceedings.
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