Fall 2026 Lectures
J. Michelle Schohn presents: "Influence Lost: The Value of Public Diplomacy for the United States"
Wednesday, November 18
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
The Palmetto Club: 1231 Sumter St. Columbia, SC 29201
Description:
J. Michelle Schohn is a retired Senior Foreign Service Officer specializing in Public Diplomacy with the U.S. Department of State, where she served in Israel, Estonia, Kosovo, and Washington, D.C.
Prior to joining the Foreign Service, she was a PhD candidate in archaeology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Dr. Christopher T. Culbertson presents:
"From the Rotary Club to the Village Well: Connecting USC to the World"
Wednesday, October 21
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
The Palmetto Club: 1231 Sumter St. Columbia, SC 29201
Description:
The new dean of the McCausland College of Arts and sciences shares his perspectives on higher education in a changing world, drawing from his experiences, which includes international service work with Rotary International.
Dr. Culbertson serves as the Dean of the McCausland College of Arts & Sciences at the University of South Carolina. He is an accomplished researcher in chemistry who has also earned national recognition both in science and university administration. He earned his Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Jim Young presents:
"Convoy4Ukraine: A Columbian's Mission to the Front"
Wednesday, September 30
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
The Palmetto Club: 1231 Sumter St. Columbia, SC 29201
Description:
Jim Young traveled to Ukraine last February as one of only two Americans participating in an aid mission sponsored by a private British charity called Convoy4Ukraine. The charity organized 42 volunteers into teams of two to drive 21 pickup trucks and SUVs across northern Europe to Ukraine. They delivered medical equipment and supplies to civilian and military units across the country, coming within 60 miles of the front lines. Along the way, they also dropped off the vehicles themselves! This effort began immediately after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, born of a private individual’s moral outrage over the injustice of the attack.
After retiring from a long and varied career, including 10 years with Spartanburg, S.C.-based Tandematic, a worldwide exporter of proprietary textile machinery, Jim Young returned to school this fall at the age of 67 to pursue a master’s degree in history at the University of South Carolina. He continues to serve as a volunteer commissioner on Richland County Conservation Commission. Jim’s career included 19 years as a Montessori teacher and administrator, but he started out in journalism. He ended up as a business reporter at The State under the editorship of none other than Fred Monk! Jim holds a bachelor’s degree in Slavic Languages and Literature (Russian Studies) from the University of Virginia, which makes the situation in Ukraine hit him particularly hard.
Visit our Palmetto Forum Archive to learn more about previous Palmetto Forums that the Walker Institute of International and Area Studies has offered.