WWU’s Munro Seminar for Civic Education Set for Oct. 23 and 24; keynote to discuss trade with China

Western Washington University’s Ralph Munro Institute for Civic Education will host the annual Munro Seminar on Oct. 23 and 24; this year’s theme is former Washington Secretary of State, WWU alumnus and former WWU trustee Ralph Munro’s legacy in international affairs.

Programs will highlight Munro’s role in stimulating trade between Washington and the Far East, and his humanitarian work in East Africa.

The keynote speaker will be David Bachman, professor of Political Science at the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington.

Bachman will talk about US-China trade relations during the Trump presidency in his keynote presentation, “China and the United States: Trade and Security Tensions in the Era of Trump.” His lecture will be held in the Walton Room of the Mount Baker Theatre on Tuesday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. The Mount Baker Theatre is located at 104 N. Commercial St. in Bellingham.

The seminar will also feature panels in the Wilson Library Reading Room on Western’s campus on Wednesday, October 24 from 2:30-6 p.m.

The panel on Global Citizenship will begin at 2:30 p.m. Panelists include the Bellingham Chapter of Engineers without Borders, Liz Mogford of Western’s Sociology department, and Lauren McClanahan of the Bellingham Sister Cities Association and Western’s Secondary Education department. Vicki Hamblin, the executive director for the Institute for Global Engagement at Western, will moderate the panel.

The Global Citizenship panel will last until 4 p.m., when a half-hour intermission with complimentary snacks will be introduced.

The Trade Policy under the Trump Presidency panel will begin at 4:30 p.m. Laurie Trautman, the director of the Border Policy Research Institute at Western, will moderate the panel. Panelists will include Louis Mingo, an economic affairs officer for the Mexican Consulate, and Christopher Sands of the School of Advanced International Studies at John Hopkins University. Jason Query from Western’s Economics department and Stan Sorscher, the president of the Washington Fair Trade Coalition are also panelists.

For more information, go to https://chss.wwu.edu/political-science/ralph-munro-seminar-civic-education or contact Vernon Johnson, Western political science professor and director for the Ralph Munro Institute for Civic Education at vernon.johnson@wwu.edu.