Panel on Ukraine-Russia Crisis and Dinner with Visiting Ukrainian Students

Earlier this week the St. Albans School of Public Service Class of 2014 was fortunate enough to host a visit from Ukrainian high school students attending the Transnational Education Group's Washington Summer Business and Diplomacy Leadership Academy.  Like SPS '14, the Ukrainian students are in Washington, D.C. for four weeks, so the two program decided to jointly host a panel discussion on the Ukraine - Russia crisis.  The panelists were Ambassador William Courtney, who served as the first U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan after the fall of the Soviet Union and as U.S. Ambassador to Georgia; and Ambassador Steven Pifer, who served as U.S. Ambassador to the Ukraine.  Our panelists offered their reflections on the current crisis in the Ukraine as well as on the implications for larger Russian policy, and entertained numerous questions.  We were also fortunate to hear from one of our Ukrainian student guests on her family's experience during the crisis.  After the panel discussion, the two groups joined together for dinner in the Refectory (see photos below) and an impromptu dance party in the Common Room.