The Mroz Global Leadership Institute held its Inaugural Convening in March 2022. More than 60 domestic and international guests came to the College of Charleston for two full days of talks and panel discussions on the topics of leadership, diplomacy, and international security. The Inaugural Convening was an opportunity to celebrate the world-wide impact of the EastWest Institute over its 40-year history and the launch of the Mroz Institute and its vision of preparing today’s students to be tomorrow’s global leaders.
During two days of the Convening, we organized 2 keynote addresses, 2 featured talks, 5 breakout sessions, and 5 roundtable discussions. The Convening was a highlight of the spring semester attended by Mayor Tecklenburg, CofC President Hsu, Provost Austin, Hilton and Catherin Smith, LCWA board members, many faculty members, students, and members of the Charleston community. We hosted sixteen speakers, including five CofC faculty members, who shared their insight on migration, covid and climate change, global governance, the challenges of democratic governance and the threat of authoritarianism, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Convening was very impactful on campus, as each panel or talk was attended by 85-110 guests and one panel discussion had standing room only with about 190 in attendance. We offered an remote opportunity to attend panels to our guests, who connected from Armenia, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Serbia, and many US states.
We hosted the leaders of affiliate organizations– David Firestein from the Bush-China Foundation, Brian Finlay and Bruce McConnel from the Stimson Center, and Anneleen Roggeman for a panel discussion. These organizations, along with the Mroz Institute, continue the legacy of John Edwin Mroz and the EastWest Institute. Among the speakers were world renowned experts on leadership, executive coaches, leaders of non-profit organizations, think-tanks, and international organizations. The highlights of the convening were the keynote addresses by Marshall Goldsmith, best-selling author of books on leadership and mentorship and Rose Gottemoeller, former Deputy Secretary-General of NATO.
