Globetrotting Journalist and Spy Novelist David Ignatius to Visit UCF

The Office of Global Perspectives & International Initiatives (GPII) will host award-winning Washington Post foreign affairs columnist and best-selling novelist David Ignatius during his visit to UCF on Nov. 18. Ignatius will be the keynote speaker at the 12th Annual International Education Week Breakfast, which is cohosted by GPII and UCF Global.

Ignatius will be this year’s first speaker in the Lester N. Mandell Endowed Distinguished Lecture Series. During his visit to UCF, he will also appear on WUCF’s “Global Perspectives” television show and have a working lunch with senior journalism students.

“David Ignatius’s experience spans all corners of the globe and is inspiring to students looking to work in a variety of fields,” noted GPII Director David Dumke. “Through these various engagements, we hope to connect as many students as possible to this prominent thought leader.”

Drawing from more than 40 years of reporting on politics, economics, and the Middle East, Ignatius brings to UCF his insights and expertise on the threats to national security, cyber security, and the spread of information.

For more than 15 years, Ignatius has published his twice-weekly column for The Washington Post. Ignatius was previously a reporter for The Wall Street Journal and the executive editor of the International Herald Tribune. He has published articles in Foreign Affairs, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, and The New Republic.

Over his career, he has covered nearly every Washington beat, including the Pentagon, the CIA, Capitol Hill, and Cyber Command. A prolific author, Ignatius turned his experiences with the CIA into 10 spy novels. As an NBC analyst and regular guest on “Morning Joe,” Ignatius has appeared on “CBS This Morning,” “Face the Nation,” and “Meet the Press.”

Ignatius and his work have received global acclaim, winning the Overseas Press Club Award, the Gerald Loeb Award for Commentary, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Center for Journalists. In 2019, Ignatius won a special George Polk award.

Ignatius is visiting Orlando thanks to the generosity of the Mandell family, which established the Lester N. Mandell Endowed Distinguished Lecture Series in 2016. This will mark the first Mandell speaker hosted by GPII. Ambassador and Mrs. Robert Mandell will be special guests at the International Education Week Breakfast.

Click here for more information about attending the International Education Week Breakfast. For more information about this visit, please email Karen.Solla@ucf.edu or call 407.823.0688.