US Ambassador to Australia Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr was warmly welcomed to campus on Wednesday 15 May 2019, where he presented to students of American Studies, Industrial Relations and Law and invited their questions in an extended Q&A session – with no topic off the table.

Keen to engage with young people early in his term, Mr Culvahouse visited a number of Australian universities in May including the University of Melbourne and Tasmania, choosing Flinders for his key South Australian engagement.

While on campus he spoke to Professor Don DeBats, Head of American Studies, about the programs he runs on US politics and the Australia-US alliance, which includes annual Washington internships.

Nominated by President Trump to the role of US Ambassador to Australia in November last year, Mr Culvahouse was formally sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence on 19 February this year.

He was accompanied to Flinders by Consul General Michael F. Kleine.

Prior to his student address he met with Vice-Chancellor Professor Colin Stirling and other senior executives briefly before addressing 40-50 students.

His relaxed presentation finished with an open questions session, which extended well beyond the scheduled 10 minutes to accommodate an enthusiastic flow of questions from the audience on topics around the increasing threats from cyber warfare, US relationships with China, and US perceptions on recent Australian government decisions.