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Contact: Debbie Morton at Mercyhurst College, 814.824.2552
Mercyhurst hosts international conference on intelligence
The Mercyhurst College Institute for Intelligence Studies (MCIIS), an innovative leader in its field, will take the world stage this summer, bringing together leading practitioners from across the U.S. and Europe to share best practices in intelligence analysis at a conference in Dungarvan, Ireland, the college announced today.
Dr. Thomas Gamble at press conference announcing 2010 Dungarvan Conference
The college also confirmed that Tom Ridge, the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security and the 43rd governor of Pennsylvania, has accepted its invitation to deliver the keynote address at the inaugural Dungarvan Conference 2010, slated for July 11-13.
“Mercyhurst’s niche program in intelligence studies has evolved into one of the nation’s preeminent authorities in the field of intelligence analysis and this global outreach to share our expertise and learn from others is consistent with its outstanding reputation both here and abroad,” said Mercyhurst President Dr. Thomas J. Gamble. “That Erie’s own Tom Ridge has agreed to lend his formidable knowledge and experience to this vital conference is an honor for which we are indeed grateful.”
“We can never underestimate the value of improving the ways in which we gather, analyze, share and act on intelligence data," said Ridge, currently president and CEO of Ridge Global in Washington D.C. "I’m pleased to see the contribution that Mercyhurst is providing to the intelligence community and look forward to a substantive discussion at the Dungarvan Conference.”
In addition, Gamble noted, the conference in Ireland strengthens and enriches Mercyhurst’s already productive relationship with Dungarvan, which shares a Sister City relationship with the City of Erie. This spring the college sent six faculty and 26 students to Dungarvan to establish a satellite campus for the first of what is expected to be many overseas terms.
The goal of the Dungarvan Conference, foreseen as an annual affair, is to explore the nature of analysis and its application in various disciplines. Many professional disciplines involve data interpretation and assessment and usually use similar methodologies. The key question is: What are some of the best practices in different fields?
“What we do at Mercyhurst in the practice of intelligence analysis has a huge impact for anyone who gathers, interprets, disseminates and acts on information, and the entities that do it best thrive and prosper,” said Jim Breckenridge, chair of the intelligence studies department at Mercyhurst. “We are organizing this conference as an opportunity to share and learn best practices from a global perspective.”
Conference panels will be comprised of leading practitioners representing medicine, the law, finance, technology, journalism and the sub-disciplines of national security, law enforcement and business intelligence.
Breckenridge said Dungarvan’s choice as the conference host site represents a natural outgrowth of the college’s existing relationship with the Irish town, and provides a more central location for European nations.
In addition to its growth and reputation in the United States, MCIIS is developing a strong presence internationally, most recently teaching antiterrorism methods to law enforcement authorities in the countries of Malaysia, Mauritius and Sri Lanka.
Besides Breckenridge, key organizers of the Dungarvan Conference include Robert J. Heibel, founder of the intelligence studies program at Mercyhurst and executive director of MCIIS; Dungarvan native and Mercyhurst alumnus John Melody, director of development; along with partners in Dungarvan, among them Waterford County Manager Ray O’Dwyer and Fine Gael Waterford TD John Deasy, who also is a Mercyhurst alumnus.
Among the conference participants from Erie scheduled to speak are Dennis Dirkmaat, chair of applied forensic sciences at Mercyhurst; and pediatric urologist Justine Marut Schober, director of academic research, Hamot Medical Center. Others include Justyna Krajewska, project manager, Amsterdam in Business, Amsterdam, Holland; Catherine Lotrionte, associate director of the Institute for Law, Science and Global Security, Georgetown University, and former Counsel to the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, White House, Washington, DC; Mark M. Lowenthal, president and CEO of the Intelligence and Security Academy, LLC., Reston, Va.; Don McDowell, director, The Intelligence Study Centre, New South Wales, Australia; and Jim Poole, head of Analytical Capability and Outreach, Professional Head of Intelligence Analysis, UK Cabinet Office, London, United Kingdom.
