William Powers
President, University of Texas at Austin

EVENT REPORT - February 6, 2012

Bill Powers, president of the University of Texas, has become an outspoken defender of public universities in the state's emerging debate about their future.  At the Gulen Institute Luncheon Forum, Powers argued that public universities play an essential role in fostering future innovation and productivity, and he insisted that these results cannot be achieved by "short-circuiting" the research model.  Some improvements are needed, he allowed.  The current cost to families and the increasing time that students spend finishing their degrees are important problems to be addressed.  But Powers insisted that the important questions of affordability and productivity have to be framed within the broader question: "What do we expect our universities to do?"  He expressed concern that unless there is consensus on what the fundamental purpose of a public research university is, none of the needed improvements can be made. 

Greg Meyers
Houston Independent School District - Trustee for District VI

EVENT REPORT - December 18, 2011

Greg Meyers, HISD Trustee for District VI, enthusiastically outlined the district's new strategic direction at the Gulen Institute's Luncheon Forum.  He presented a series of measurements showing definite improvement in Houston schools after only a year of implementation, and though Meyers spoke like a businessman, his presentation was infused with the sense of urgency that motivates educators: "These kids get one shot."  From this perspective, incremental improvements are not enough. "We've thrown out the word 'reform,'" Meyers proclaimed. "We are working now to transform Houston schools and to make HISD the best district in the nation." The new strategy, recently developed with the help of the local community, intends to bring about such wholesale change, ensuring college and career readiness among all Houston students.

Jeffrey O. Baldwin, Sr.
Field Operations - US Customs and Border Protection

EVENT REPORT - November 3, 2011

For Jeffrey O. Baldwin, director of Field Operations for the Houston Office of US Customs and Border Protection, communication between government agencies and the populace they serve is an essential part of effective security.  “I want to listen to you and hear your concerns,” he announced to the audience of the Gulen Institute Luncheon Forum. And in the spirit of transparency, Baldwin enumerated the many changes in policy and practice that have been instituted since September 11th. He suggested that the increased security presence in airports and at the border must be accompanied by an effort to make clear both the methods and intentions of such a presence. “Ultimately,” Baldwin stated, “our goal is to build trust and to protect not only lives, but the rights and civil liberties of travelers.”

Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr.
Texas Senate - District 27

EVENT REPORT - November 12, 2011

(excerpted from the Senator’s presentation)

"Peace has always been elusive in our world, even though the vast majority of us want it. There is a yearning for harmony written into our DNA, and like many people around the world, I look to my faith for guidance.  I am a Catholic, and my church and my faith are a well of hope and strength for me. As I have matured into my faith, I have found the teachings of Mother Teresa to be a great blessing: “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” At the heart of this quote there is a beautiful principle. We belong to each other. This is what we must discipline ourselves to remember—in both public and private life, in both local and global relationships. We belong to each other across histories and faiths, even across conflicts.

Hon. Vicente Fox
55^th President of Mexico

EVENT REPORT - May 3, 2011

"We can only attain happiness by living for others,” declared Vicente Fox, former President of Mexico, at the Gülen Institute Luncheon Forum.  “This has been the guidance of my life.”  Throughout his presentation, Fox suggested that international relationships should be governed by the same ethical rules as interpersonal ones. The world community must be held accountable to the standards of service, sacrifice, respect, and cooperation that we expect from ourselves as individuals.  So it was with all the conviction of an ethical imperative that Fox called for new world institutions, new platforms for international dialogue, and a new vision for worldwide, multilateral decision-making.

Kofi Annan
Secretary General of the United Nations, 1997-2006

EVENT REPORT - April 12, 2010

The Secretary General of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006, Kofi Annan encouraged international collaboration in his address to the Gülen Institute Luncheon Forum.  Annan cited the tumultuous changes of the past two decades, the end of the Cold War and the rise of the “Tiger” nations, as evidence of the world’s increasing interdependence.  Global leaders must acknowledge the reality of these complex international relationships and work together across borders to ensure the physical safety and economic security of all. To this end, Annan discussed his latest worldwide initiative: The Global Compact.  “Given the philosophy and vision of Fethullah Gülen,” Annan noted, “this is an appropriate forum for such conversations.”

David Leebron
President of Rice University

EVENT REPORT - May 13, 2009

At the Gülen Institute Luncheon forum, David Leebron, President of Rice University, discussed his recent efforts to foster an internationalist perspective among the students at Rice.  Arguing that universities have unique obligations to both local and international communities, Leebron drew from his own experience as a scholar and an administrator to suggest how these two obligations might be reconciled.  Despite immense investments in the local community of Houston, Rice University sees itself as an institution with a role to play in the wider world. According to Leebron, this international awareness has to inform how Rice University operates: in terms of both the problems it chooses to address and the people it chooses to educate.  Leebron suggested that the challenge facing modern universities is that of striking a productive balance between their necessarily local assets and this distinctively global mission.

Renu Khator
President of University of Houston

EVENT REPORT - March 26, 2009

Renu Khator, President of the University of Houston, was invited to the Gülen Institute Luncheon Forum to discuss the future of higher education in America.  As a scholar of globalization and an experienced administrator, Khator emphasized the need to consider higher education in a global context.  Higher education has always constituted the primary line of class demarcation: between the “haves” and the “have nots.”  But in today’s world, Khator proposed that a further division has been introduced: the “global haves” and the “global have nots.”

Education no longer simply offers advantages within local economies; it is the primary gatekeeper of the global economy as well.  In addition to locally divided “haves” and “have nots,” Khator defined “global haves” as those who are internationally connected, who thrive in the fluidity of the global economy and float easily from city to city, country to country.  On the other hand, “global have nots” are those who find themselves exploited by the global economy, who have no agency within it and are at the mercy of massive, often foreign, flows of capital.  More than any other factors, Khator suggested that education constitutes this division: every single “global have” has a college degree.  For this reason, Khator insisted that it has never been more important to situate higher education in a global context.

Paul Lynch
Consul General of the United Kingdom

EVENT REPORT - May 28, 2008

Paul Lynch, the British Consulate General in Houston, spoke at the Gülen Institute Luncheon Forum about combatting violent extremism. He offered a detailed account of how the British government has been working with local communities to prevent radicalization in the UK since 2005. Lynch’s talk centered on the threat of Al-Qaeda, but he reminded those gathered of the recent history of violent extremism in northern Ireland between republican catholic terror groups and nationalist protestant terror groups.  “Sadly,” said Lynch, “this is an area in which we in the UK have a lot of experience.”

Before discussing the challenges facing the Muslim community in the UK, Lynch made a point to provide some historical context, stating: “I do not want to give the wrong impression of how Muslims participate in UK society.”  The history of Muslims in the UK stretches back well over 1000 years, as Islamic artifacts around the country will attest.  Lynch noted that Britain’s first purpose-built mosque was built in 1889.  Muslim communities in the UK clearly have deep roots, and the 2001 census counted about 1.6 million Muslims living in Britain, half of whom were born in Britain.  And Lynch was proud to note that in all of Europe, Britain has the highest number of Muslim parliamentarians.