Thomas L. Friedman, one of the world’s most highly respected commentators on international affairs, will speak at Westmont’s second annual President’s Breakfast, Wednesday, Feb. 28. He will discuss “The World is Flat: Speaking on the Next Phase of Globalization,” at 7 a.m. in the Grand Ballroom at Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort. Tickets went on sale Friday, Jan. 26, and sold out in three hours.

Friedman is a syndicated columnist for The New York Times and a three-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Vanity Fair has called him “the country’s best newspaper columnist.”
His latest book is the international bestseller “The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century.” It has been on the Times best-seller list for more than 90 weeks.
His previous bestseller, “Longitudes and Attitudes: The World in the Age of Terrorism,” includes a collection of his Pulitzer Prize-winning columns. His bestseller, “From Beirut to Jerusalem,” continues to serve as a basic text on the Middle East in many colleges and universities nationwide.

The Westmont Foundation and area businesses sponsor the President’s Breakfast. It is intended to promote discussion and consideration of current issues among local community leaders.

“We’re all seeking some new ideas and perspectives about the crucial issues facing our world,” says Chancellor David K. Winter. “These President’s Breakfasts are part of a larger effort by Westmont to assist the Santa Barbara community understand and grapple with these issues. We believe Mr. Friedman will be a great resource for all of us.”
The annual event and the ongoing Westmont Downtown: Conversations About Things that Matter at the University Club are designed to reach out and engage the larger Santa Barbara and Montecito communities.

A panel of local professors moderated by Deborah Dunn, Westmont associate professor of communication studies, will lead a lively discussion of Thomas Friedman’s best-selling book “The World Is Flat.” The event is tied to the President's Breakfast. The book raises provocative issues and focuses on the new technologies that have transformed communication worldwide and promoted globalization. How clearly does Friedman see the future? Just how flat has the world become? The panel will include Chandra Mallampalli, Westmont assistant professor of history, Susan Penksa, Westmont associate professor of political science, and Cynthia Stohl, UC Santa Barbara professor of communication.

The Downtown Conversation is free and open to the public, Thursday, Feb. 15, at the University Club, 1332 Santa Barbara St., at 5:30 p.m.