NORMAL, Ill. — Author, educator, and former U.S. diplomat Gordon Duguid will present an address on “Trends in U.S. Foreign Relations” as part of the Adlai E. Stevenson Memorial Lecture Series on Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, at 7 p.m., in the Brown Ballroom, Bone Student Center, at Illinois State University.
His talk is co-hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University. The lecture is free and open to the public and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Registration is appreciated but not required.
Duguid is currently Illinois State University’s Donald F. McHenry Visiting Professor in Diplomacy and International Affairs. He served as a U.S. diplomat for more than 30 years, was assigned to the Organization of American States to work on counter-terrorism initiatives, authored the novel Counter Narrative, and has taught at the George Washington University, the United States National Intelligence University, and the United States Foreign Service Institute.
His accomplishments while serving as a U.S. diplomat include U.S. Foreign Service as Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy to Montenegro, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy to Serbia, Deputy Spokesperson of the Department of State, as well as Senior Advisor on Bosnia. He served in public diplomacy positions at the U.S. Mission to NATO and U.S. Embassies in India, Burundi, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Duguid received a bachelor’s degree in history from Illinois State and a master’s degree in American Studies from the University of London.
This event is sponsored by the Stevenson Lecture Series, which was established by a group of local civic leaders to honor the legacy of Bloomington native Adlai E. Stevenson II, former governor of Illinois and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, following his death in 1965. The series is co-hosted by Illinois State University and Illinois Wesleyan University.
If you need a special accommodation to fully participate, please contact ISU Presidential and Trustee Events at (309) 438-8790 or UniversityEvents@IllinoisState.edu. Please allow sufficient time to arrange the accommodation.