David Kramer, president of Freedom House, will be the featured speaker at Southwestern College’s opening convocation Friday, Aug. 26, at 11 a.m. at Grace United Methodist Church in Winfield. There is no admission charge to attend.

The convocation will be held off campus this year as construction continues on the remodeling of the auditorium in Christy Administration Building.

The opening convocation will wrap up the festivities for Fall Frenzy 2011 and officially start the academic year. It will also feature the introduction of new faculty, recognition of students included on the Dean’s Honor Roll for the spring 2011 semester, and announcement of the Scholar of the College.

Kramer joined the Freedom House organization in October 2010. Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization that supports the expansion of freedom around the world. Freedom House supports democratic change, monitors freedom, and advocates for democracy and human rights.

Prior to joining Freedom House, Kramer was a senior transatlantic fellow at the German Marshall Fund (GMF) of the United States. He was an adjunct professor at the Elliott School for International Affairs at The George Washington University. Before joining GMF, Kramer served as assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labor from March 2008 to January 2009. He also was a deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs, responsible for Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus affairs as well as regional non-proliferation issues. Previously, he served as a professional staff member in the secretary of state’s office of policy planning. Before that he served as senior advisor to the under secretary of state for global affairs. He also was executive director of the U.S. advisory commission on public diplomacy in Washington.

Before joining the U.S. Government, Kramer was a senior fellow at the Project for the New American Century, associate director of the Russian and Eurasian Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and assistant director of Russian and Eurasian Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, all in Washington.
Prior to moving to Washington, he was a lecturer in Russian Studies at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., and a teaching fellow at Harvard University. He also served as an analyst for the Christian Science Monitor Network during the collapse of the Soviet Union.
A native of Massachusetts, Kramer received his M.A. in Soviet studies from Harvard University and his B.A. in Soviet studies and political science from Tufts University.

Since its founding in 1941 by prominent Americans concerned with the mounting threats to peace and democracy, Freedom House has been a vigorous proponent of democratic values and a steadfast opponent of dictatorships of the far left and the far right. Eleanor Roosevelt and Wendell Willkie served as Freedom House’s first honorary co-chairpersons.