Institute for Peace Studies schedules Thomas Sutherland to speak in Billings in late February, director says

Thomas Sutherland, a former faculty member who was held hostage in Lebanon, is expected to speak in Billings in late February, the Institute for Peace Studies announced during a radio interview in Missoula. Don Pedersen, executive director of the Institute, said the lecture is planned as a public appearance tied to the institute's effort to promote peace studies across Montana.

The appearance is part of the institute's push to bring peace-studies programming into mainstream higher education in the state, organizers said. "We are very fortunate to have Mr. Sutherland speak under the auspices of the Institute for Peace Studies," said Jim Ranney, Missoula board member for the institute, during the interview.

Pedersen described Sutherland's background in higher education and his captivity in Beirut. Pedersen said Sutherland taught at Colorado State University and served as dean of the College of Agriculture and Food Science at the American University of Beirut before being abducted by Islamic Jihad. "He was 77 months in captivity," Pedersen said. Pedersen added that Sutherland has given media interviews and longer public presentations outside Montana, including appearances on the Today Show.

Details about the Billings event given in the interview were inconsistent. In one exchange Pedersen initially mentioned a date in mid-February and an 8 p.m. start time; later in the same interview he said the event would be Feb. 23 with an 8:30 p.m. start at the Alberta Bair Theater in downtown Billings. Pedersen advised listeners that tickets cost $6 and said, "If people want more information or want to order tickets ahead, they can call 256-6052 and get tickets set aside." The transcript contains both date/time formulations; the institute should be contacted to confirm the final date and time.

Pedersen described the Institute for Peace Studies as an organization that has been officially organized for about three years, with roughly two years of prior groundwork. He said the institute seeks to expand academic offerings and community programming around conflict management, exchange programs and peace studies curricula in Montana. Pedersen said Rocky Mountain College offers a minor in peace studies and estimated that roughly 80 U.S. schools offer undergraduate peace-studies degrees and about 20 offer graduate-level programs, numbers he presented as approximate.

The institute has provided conflict-management training to public and private organizations in Montana, Pedersen said, and has worked with the Montana Kazakhstan Exchange Project and with Native American communities on emerging issues. Ranney encouraged Missoula residents to consider attending: "I think that people from Missoula would be perhaps interested in making the trek over to Billings to find out more about the Peace Institute," he said.

The interview contained program background, a biographical summary of Sutherland and logistical information about the Billings event; it did not include a formal announcement of tickets sales procedures beyond the phone line, nor did the speakers provide a final confirmed event date in the recorded exchange. Readers seeking current, authoritative event details should contact the Institute for Peace Studies directly.