Stanford US–Russia Forum American and twenty Russian students, selected on a competitive basis. During the fall, the SURF delegates participated in a series of virtual seminars with guest lecturers including Dmitri Trenin (Director, Carnegie Moscow Center) and Donald Kennedy (Editor, Science). In the winter, the delegates continued to meet virtually in small groups that researched and produced Collaborative Research Projects (CRP). The program concluded with a week-long capstone conference at Stanford University in April 2010. The capstone conference brought together organizers, participants and sponsors of SURF, as well as a number of special guests. Speakers included the 66th U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs The Under Secretary for Political Affairs is currently the third ranking position in the United States Department of State, after the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary. While the positions of Secretary and Deputy Secretary are occupied by political appointees, the position of Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs is usually (but not always) occupied by a career Foreign Service Officer, making the occupant the highest-ranking member of the Foreign Service. The current Under Secretary is David Hale, who assumed office on August 30, 2018. The Under Secretary serves as the day-to-day manager