Tom Nichols at Occidental College

Tom Nichols is a bestselling author and staff writer at The Atlantic. A professor emeritus of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, he has expertise on a range of foreign policy issues including Russia, nuclear weapons, and the role of war in international affairs. Confidently contrarian, Nichols is renowned for his commentary on political issues, the decline of modern society, and threats to democracy at home and abroad. He writes The Atlantic Daily newsletter, guiding readers through the biggest news, ideas, and cultural happenings of the day. His books include and .

Nichols has been named to the POLITICO 50, one the “key thinkers, doers, and visionaries reshaping American politics and policy.” He taught at the U.S. Naval War College for over 25 years and at the Harvard Extension School for nearly 20 years. He served as Senior Associate of the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs, as Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and is currently a Fellow of the International History Institute at Boston University. Nichols also worked as a legislative aide in the Massachusetts House and the U.S. Senate and served on Senator John Heinz’s defense and security affairs staff. Nichols is a five-time undefeated Jeopardy! champion and was once listed as one of the top 100 players of the game.

THE JACK KEMP ’57 DISTINGUISHED LECTURE SERIES

Established in 2013, The Jack Kemp ’57 Distinguished Lecture Series was made possible by the Jack Kemp ‘57 Scholars Endowment and strives to engage Occidental students and faculty in dialogue on important issues of public policy such as the political economy, economic growth in the context of a market system, communitarian values, and bipartisan relations.

Jack Kemp ’57, NFL quarterback, congressman, Housing and Urban Development secretary, and 1996 GOP vice presidential candidate, built a game plan for life around his passions: family, football, and the future of his country. By the time he was 6, he had decided that he wanted to be a professional quarterback. Occidental not only helped Kemp realize that dream, it opened his eyes to a bigger world of ideas. His lifelong love of learning, his ability to reach out across the aisle, and his eloquence as a speaker and writer all reflect the liberal arts education he received at Oxy.

Previous Kemp Distinguished Lecturers include former congressman Adam Kinzinger, a member of the Select Committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol; former U.S. Senator Jeff Flake; Tal Becker, one of Israel’s top peace negotiators and senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem; former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; and journalist, political commentator and Kemp biographer Morton Kondracke.

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