Established in 1974, the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies at the University of Georgia will mark its 50^th anniversary this fall as the only archive in the state dedicated exclusively to documenting politics, policymaking, and public life. 

In celebration of this milestone, the Russell Library will host a pair of public events on Tuesday, Oct. 22, engaging several of the top political thought leaders on national security and international relations issues. The anniversary events will begin with a morning conversation with former U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss and retired Maj. General Arnold L. Punaro, followed by an afternoon discussion with internationally renowned UGA political science emeriti professors Gary Bertsch and Loch K. Johnson. 

Both events, held at the UGA Special Collections Libraries building, are free and open to the public and to UGA faculty, staff, and students. In between sessions, attendees are invited to explore selected items from the Russell Library’s collections on display in the R. Harold Harrison Feature Gallery as part of the exhibition Precious, Almost Scared: Voting Rights in America.

“We are excited to welcome these towering figures in the fields of national defense, foreign policy, and international affairs to campus. For a half century, the Russell Library has documented America’s role in the world,” said director of the Russell Library Sheryl Vogt. “It’s fitting, therefore, that Senator Chambliss, General Punaro, and Professors Bertsch and Johnson should take part in the Russell Library’s anniversary celebration.”

Created originally to house the papers of Georgia’s longest serving senator in his home state, the Russell Library now provides public access to reports, photographs, drafts of legislation, correspondence, and more on key 20^th and 21^st century issues including the Vietnam War, desegregation and the Civil Rights Movements, the Cold War, and other events.

In the past five decades, the library’s archives have expanded to include approximately 600 collections from across the state’s political landscape, including the papers of Georgia governors, a dozen United States senators, more than 30 U.S. House representatives, as well as the records of state legislators, the Democratic Party of Georgia, the Georgia Republican Party, and the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials. The Russell Library also preserves and shares more than 2,000 oral history interviews with leading government officials, community leaders, and cultural figures.

Earning a national reputation as one of the foremost repositories for modern congressional papers, the Russell Library’s archives have been used in countless research projects by students and faculty, as well as cited in books and documentaries, including the UGA Libraries produced Inside the Warren Commission, which won a regional Emmy Award earlier this year.

“The Russell Library holds collections of national and international significance,” said Toby Graham, associate provost and university librarian, “but nowhere is the Library’s impact greater than right here at UGA where thousands of students annually learn through archives-based courses, hands-on experiential learning, graduate study, and K-12 field trips. The Russell Library also manages the Georgia Capitol Museum in Atlanta, where it has a far-reaching opportunity to educate young people and the general public about state government.”

During the first anniversary event, Chambliss and Punaro will discuss the state of American foreign policy and national defense in 2024 and beyond. Maryann Gallagher, director of the Richard B. Russell Security Leadership Program (SLP), will moderate the event, which is scheduled for 11 a.m. with a light reception to follow. This event is part of the University’s Signature Lecture series. 

Chambliss served four terms in the US House of Representatives before winning election to the US Senate in 2002 until his retirement in 2014. During his Senate tenure, Chambliss sat on Armed Services; Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; and Rules committees. His leadership and experience on homeland security and intelligence matters earned him an appointment to the powerful Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, where he served as vice chairman from 2011 to 2015. 

A retired US Marine Corps Major General, Punaro is chief executive officer of The Punaro Group, LLC, a Washington-based firm specializing in federal budget and market analysis, business strategy and capture, acquisition due diligence, government relations, communications, sensitive operations, business risk analysis and compliance, and crisis management. He consults for a broad array of Fortune 100 companies and has been recognized by Defense News as one of the 100 most influential individuals in U.S. Defense. He also leads Punaro Capital, LLC, a firm specializing in national security investments and Punaro Press, LLC.   

On the afternoon of Oct. 22, the festivities will continue at 4 p.m. when Bertsch and Johnson will draw upon decades of real-world experience and scholarly expertise in a moderated discussion placing contemporary American foreign policy and international affairs into context.

Bertsch is the author and editor of 20 books and more than 100 articles and chapters including Crossroads and Conflict: Security and Foreign Policy in the Caucasus and Central Asia and Dangerous Weapons, Desperate States: Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. In 1987, he established UGA’s Center for International Trade and Security, which has brought in more than $50 million to UGA in external research funding. Bertsch worked closely with U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn on nuclear security issues. He retired from UGA in 2010 and formed the international consultancy TradeSecure to promote strategic trade compliance, national security, peace and prosperity. Bertsch is a Life Member of the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations, and he received the University of Georgia’s President’s Medal in 2015.