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Monday 8am - 5pm Tuesday 8am - 5pm Wednesday 8am - 5pm Thursday 8am - 5pm Friday 8am - 5pm

Benson-Bertsch Center for International Trade and Security

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Benson-Bertsch Center for International Trade and Security

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Promoting interdisciplinary solutions to contemporary security issues through research, policy work, education and outreach.

10/14/2026

We will be hosting another Benson-Bertsch Bagel Break at BBCITS on Thursday from 9-11. Come grab a bagel and stop to chat!

10/13/2026

We were glad to have Kendra Pengelly back on campus to share her experience and advice with our BBCITS students. Kendra works on counterterrorism policy at the U.S. Department of State. Her work spans Côte d’Ivoire, Chad, Sierra Leone, and Bangladesh, and she is currently serving a six-month detail with the Haiti Gang Suppression Force.

Kendra joined a counterterrorism class to share perspectives from her work as a counterterrorism practitioner. She also met with GradFIRST students to discuss careers and professional development, and with small groups to offer further insights and advice on pursuing careers in international security. Her experience assessing risk, developing strategy, and advising senior officials offered a valuable connection between classroom learning and policy in practice.

Thank you, Kendra, for returning to UGA and helping our students explore their own paths in international security and public service.

10/06/2026

Last week, the Benson-Bertsch Center for International Trade and Security and the CSIS Economics Program and Scholl Chair co-hosted the Technology Export Controls Conference (https://spia.uga.edu/tecc/) in Washington, DC.

We brought together over 140 current and former government officials, compliance practitioners and policy experts from technology companies and their valued channel partners, university and think tank researchers, and legal practitioners to assess the state of US dual-use export controls on semiconductors and other technology items and identify practical paths for compliance.

We were privileged to hear directly from two of the US government's most senior export control officials, Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Jeffrey Kessler and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement David Peters, on US export control and enforcement priorities. We are grateful for Under Secretary Kessler's and Assistant Secretary Peters's engagement with our students and attendees.

Defense Technology Security Administration Director Michael Laychak offered remarks on the importance of export control compliance for US and allied military personnel, civilians in harm's way, and critical infrastructure in places like Ukraine and the Middle East.

Thank you to all our chairs, panelists, and attendees, and to our partners at CSIS, SIA, and ECIA for making the conference a success. Special thanks to Kevin Kurland, whose nearly 30 years in federal export control service helped us assemble an outstanding mix of participants from industry, government, and academia.

We're grateful to our conference sponsors, SIA, ECIA, and the 2430 Group and Synopsys, Murata, and Covington & Burling LLP for sponsoring our University of Georgia Master of International Policy student participants. We look forward to partnering on innovative compliance approaches for universities and industry.

10/03/2026

Last week, we were fortunate to be joined at BBCITS by Spencer Toohill (MIP '24), Chief of Staff for Nuclear Energy Innovation at The Breakthrough Institute. Over the course of three days, Spencer spoke to Master of International Students about her work at The Breakthrough Institute and her career trajectory and gave a talk in our Energy Policy and Security class about current developments in the American nuclear fleet. In addition, Spencer had the opportunity to engage with small groups with students, offering insights and advice on breaking into the energy policy field. Thank you, Spencer for traveling back down to Georgia to spend time with us.

09/23/2026

Come join us again on Thursday from 9-11 at the BBCITS for our Benson-Bertsch Bagel Break! Grab a bite and chat with your colleagues and instructors!

09/22/2026

On September 10th, Walt Sansot, one of our nation's leading experts in nuclear nonproliferation policy, joined us on campus to speak with our Master of International Policy students in our GradFIRST course about the National Nuclear Security Administration's Graduate Fellowship Program and about building a career in nuclear nonproliferation policy. In addition to his work as an NGFP Ambassador, Walt teaches the following MIP courses: Politics of Trade and Security Policy and Technical Background for WMD Non-Proliferation Policy Practitioners. Thanks to Walt for sharing so generously of his time and expertise with our students. More information about the NGFP can be found here: https://careers.pnnl.gov/jobs/11951?lang=en-us

09/18/2026

It was a pleasure to welcome Eric Brown to campus earlier this week for his Global Decisions Lecture, "Reimagining and Revitalizing American Power." Brown spoke to a full room of international affairs and political science students and faculty about how he and his colleagues at the Robert M. Gates Global Policy Center and the Robert M. Gates Initiative in American Statecraft have been thinking about the use of nonmilitary instruments of power in achieving U.S. foreign policy objectives. Brown asked the future foreign policy practitioners in the room to "pick their R," encouraging them to reimagine, revitalize, or reinvigorate the nation's nonmilitary foreign policy tool kit. Eric also spent the day with students from the Security Leadership Program and the Master of International Policy Program, answering questions, sharing his expertise and experience, and offering career advice. Our thanks to Eric for making the time to join us in Athens.

Please join us for the next Global Decisions Lecture on October 28th. Kevin Kurland will be speaking on strategic trade and export controls. The complete 2026-2027 Global Decisions schedule is available here: https://spia.uga.edu/departments-centers/center-for-international-trade-and-security-cits/opportunities/gd/

09/15/2026

We'll once again be hosting Benson-Bertsch Bagel Break this Thursday from 9-11 at the BBCITS, come and join us!

09/09/2026

This past Thursday, we had an extra-special Benson-Bertsch Bagel Break. We were joined by Ms. Robin Benson, one of the Center's strongest supporters, and by BBCITS founder and longtime director Dr. Gary Bertsch. We were also fortunate to be joined by BBCITS Non-Resident Fellow Darrell Blocker as well. Our visitors had the chance to catch up with students and faculty over coffee and conversation. We are grateful to Darrell for spending the morning in small-group discussions with students, sharing insights on careers in intelligence and practical advice for entering the field.

Thank you to all who came out! Our next Bagel Break is tomorrow from 9 AM to 11 AM at BBCITS. Please do stop by.

09/08/2026

Come join us Thursday from 9-11 at the BBCITS for our Benson-Bertsch Bagel Break! Grab a bite and chat with your colleagues and instructors!

Address

101 Herty Drive
Athens, GA
30602

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 5pm
Tuesday	8am - 5pm
Wednesday	8am - 5pm
Thursday	8am - 5pm
Friday	8am - 5pm

Telephone

+17065422985

Website

http://www.uga.edu/cits

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