Former presidential candidate Wesley Clark to speak at Grand Valley event

Former Democratic candidate for president and four-star Gen. Wesley Clark (ret.) will speak at an event hosted by Grand Valley's Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies on March 14. 

Clark, who served for nearly 40 years in the United States Army, including assignments as Commander of U.S. Southern Command and Commander of U.S. European Command/Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, will speak about the challenges of overcoming polarization in America. 

Following his remarks, Clark will receive the Col. Ralph W. Hauenstein Fellowship Medal, the university's most prestigious external award.

The Hauenstein Fellowship Medal recognizes the extraordinary life of the center's namesake, Ralph Hauenstein, and honors distinguished individuals who exemplify his spirit of leadership and service, which Grand Valley State University seeks to inspire in its students and graduates.

General Wesley K. Clark: COL Ralph W. Hauenstein Fellowship Presentation

Thursday, March 14, 7 p.m.

L.V. Eberhard Center, Room 215

301 Fulton St. W., Grand Rapids, MI 49504

Free and open to the public. RSVP at www.gvsu.edu/hc

Clark was a candidate for president in 2004, and also helped write and negotiate significant portions of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement. In his final assignment as Supreme Allied Commander, Europe he led NATO forces to victory in Operation Allied Force, a 78-day air campaign backed by diplomatic efforts, saving 1.5 million Albanians from ethnic cleansing. 

He was valedictorian at West Point and later a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. 

Previous recipients of the Col. Ralph W. Hauenstein Fellowship Medal include: President Gerald R. Ford (posthumously), Lieutenant General Brent Scowcroft, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Secretary of State James A. Baker, Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, Ambassador John Beyrle, President of Palau Tommy Remengesau, Admiral James M. Loy, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development  Carla Hills, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

For more information, visit www.gvsu.edu/hc.