As 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter's significant foreign-policy accomplishments included the Panama Canal treaties; the strategic arms limitation treaty (SALT II) signed with Soviet president Leonid Brezhnev; the Camp David Accords between Israeli premier Menachem Begin and Egyptian president Anwar el-Sadat; and the establishment of full diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.

A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Mr. Carter's naval career took him to many parts of the world, including Asia. He rose to the rank of lieutenant, working under Admiral Hyman Rickover in the nuclear submarine program. President Carter's rise to political prominence began when he chaired the Sumter County School Board in his native Georgia. After serving as the first president of the Georgia Planning Association he was elected to the State Senate in 1962, followed by his election as state governor in 1971. He announced his candidacy for the United States presidency in 1974 and won the general election in 1976, thereby completing the most rapid ascent in modern American politics.

In 1982 Mr. Carter became University Distinguished Professor at Emory University in Atlanta. In partnership with the university he also founded The Carter Center, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization actively promoting human rights, international conflict resolution, agriculture advancements in the developing world, and the prevention of disease. President Carter is the author of sixteen books, many now in revised editions, including most recently Talking Peace: A Vision for the Next Generation. President and Mrs. Carter are also regular volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, earning national recognition for an organization dedicated to building affordable housing for the needy.

The Oksenberg Lectures honor the legacy of Professor Michel Oksenberg (1938-2001), Senior Fellow at the Asia/Pacific Research Center, professor of political science, and a foremost authority on China.

After receiving degrees from Swarthmore and Columbia, Professor Oksenberg began his academic career at Stanford in 1967, departing for Columbia in 1969 and then the University of Michigan in 1973. He became president of the East-West Center in Honolulu in 1992, before returning to Stanford in 1995. As a senior advisor on the National Security Council from 1977 to 1980, Professor Oksenberg played a crucial role in the decision that led to full diplomatic relations between Beijing and Washington. He then advised every subsequent president on China policy.

Distinguished scholar, beloved mentor to generations of students, senior government official, and a prominent force shaping American attitudes toward China, Professor Oksenberg was consistently outspoken about the need for the United States to be more thoughtful in its engagement of Asia. In tribute, the Oksenberg Lectures will recognize, annually, a distinguished practitioner of America's dealings with the nations of the Asia Pacific region.