2025 KU Security Conference Schedule
Itinerary
Understanding China’s Strategic Mindset
Wednesday, 4/30/25
Location: Dole Institute of Politics
7:00 - 8:30pm - Fireside Chat between Secretary Gates and Jerry Seib
(No registration needed)
Thursday, 5/1/25
Location: Jayhawk Welcome Center - Bruckmiller Room
8:00 - 9:00am - Breakfast
9:00 - 9:10am - Welcome & Introductions
- Mike Denning, Assistant Vice Chancellor, National Defense Initiatives
- Jack Zhang, Assistant Director, Center for East Asian Studies
9:10 - 10:15am - Keynote / Fireside Chat: Security Dynamics in Indo-Asia Pacific, Land & Sea (Moderator: Geoff Babb)
- Robert Brown, Former Commanding General, US Army Pacific
- Mike Studeman, Former Director of Intelligence, US Navy
10:15 - 11:45am - PANEL 1: Flashpoints (Moderator: Mike Denning)
- Robert Watts, Office of the Secretary of Defense
- Youngjun Kim, Korean National Defense University
- Francesca Buratti, Allied Command Transformation, NATO
11:45 - 1:00pm - Lunch & Poster Sessions
1:00 - 2:30pm - Panel 2: Foundations of China’s Strategic Mindset and Foreign Policy Decision-Making (Moderator: Megan Greene)
- Suisheng Zhao, University of Denver
- Carla Freeman, Johns Hopkins SAIS
- Jack Zhang, University of Kansas
2:30 - 3:00pm - Coffee Break & Poster sessions
3:00 - 4:30pm - Panel 3: Global Competition (Moderator: Steve Leonard)
- Stephan Haggard, UC San Diego
- Dawn Murphy, National War College
- Ryan Berg, Center for Strategic & International Studies