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Five videos that show how students learn and live at Williams College today

U.S. State Dept. Foreign Policy Conference

On March 3, 2012, Williams College hosted a conference with the Office of the Historian at the U.S. Department of State to mark the publication of the SALT I, 1969-1972, and the National Security Policy, 1969-1972, volumes of the Foreign Relations of the United States series.

The conference was the culmination of the 150th anniversary of the Foreign Relations series, which publishes declassified documents that record historic foreign policy decisions and diplomatic activity.

The conference explored the themes of the two volumes, which contain extensive information about U.S. policy initiatives in the 1970s post-hegemonic era. Each volume incorporates U.S. government records from a wide variety of sources—including dealings between the White House and Congress, transcripts of White House meetings with high-level policymakers, and coverage of interagency efforts to define and articulate U.S. policy—to provide a thorough record of major policy formation.

The conference was sponsored by the Stanley Kaplan Program in American Foreign Policy and the Department of Political Science.

Lectures & Presentations

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Coffin Prize for Passionate Public Speaking 2012

The Williams College Chaplains' Office and the First Congregational Church of Williamstown, Mass. established the Coffin Prize in 2011. The competition honors The Rev. William Sloane Coffin, Jr. (more on his life at http://bit.ly/GUro5H), by giving Williams students an opportunity to articulate some of their most passionately held convictions in public discourse—in the hope of calling forth new voices for a new time in urgent need of new leadership, inspirational activism, and fresh faith.