Pulitzer-winning journalist Thomas E. Ricks to give Schatt Memorial Lecture at ASU

Thomas E. Ricks, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, best-selling author and national security expert, is the featured speaker of the 10th annual Paul J. Schatt Memorial Lecture at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Ricks, who spent more than 25 years between the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post covering the U.S. military, will present “Why I Fear We Will Lose Our Next Big War” during a free public lecture at 7 p.m. Feb. 8 on ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus.

A senior adviser for national security at the New America Foundation and a contributing editor of Foreign Policy magazine, Ricks will explore the future of war and the type of military leadership necessary in the 21st century.

“Thomas Ricks is one of the country’s leading voices on the U.S. military,” said Christopher Callahan, dean of the Cronkite School. “His news coverage and books have significantly contributed to our national discourse. We are excited for him to share his thoughts and experiences as a journalist and author with our students and the community.”  

At the Washington Post, Ricks was part of a reporting team that won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize in National Reporting for coverage on America’s war on terrorism. He also was part of a team at the Wall Street Journal that won the same award in 2000 for coverage of U.S. defense spending and military deployment in the post-Cold War era.

Ricks has reported on U.S. military activities around the globe and is the author of numerous books, including New York Times best-seller and Pulitzer Prize finalist “Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq.” His most recent book is “The Generals: American Military Command from World War II to Today.”

This year’s Schatt Lecture also is part of ASU’s Center on the Future of War Spring Speakers Series and includes an introduction by Daniel Rothenberg, co-director of the center, which explores the social, political, economic and cultural implications of the changing nature of war and conflict. Ricks also is an ASU Future of War Senior Fellow at New America.

The Cronkite School established the Schatt lecture series in 2007 in honor of longtime Arizona Republic reporter, editor and columnist Paul J. Schatt, who was an adjunct faculty member at the Cronkite School for more than 30 years. The series is supported by an annual gift from the Arizona Republic and an endowment created in Schatt’s memory by his widow, Laura Schatt-Thede.

Previous speakers have included former Washington Post National Political Editor Steven Ginsberg, New York Times Deputy Editorial Page Editor Carla Robbins, CNN Senior Media Correspondent Brian Stelter and award-winning investigative journalist and author Mitchell Zuckoff.