UNC CHARLOTTE LECTURES TO FOLLOW CAMPAIGN OF LOCAL PROFESSOR FOR PRESIDENCY OF BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

A series of five lecture/discussion events at UNC Charlotte this fall will focus on the campaign for and election of the tripartite presidency in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mirsad Hadžikadić, Executive Director of UNC Charlotte’s Data Science Initiative and well-known professor, is one of the candidates.

Hadžikadić, who came to the U.S. as a Fulbright Scholar at Southern Methodist University and to UNC Charlotte in 1987 as an assistant professor in computer sciences, is on a temporary leave of absence from his current University position as founding executive director of the Data Science Initiative and professor of software and information systems. The Presidential vote in Bosnia and Herzegovina is on Sunday, Oct. 7. The lecture series is open without charge to the public and to UNC Charlotte students, faculty and staff. The dates and topics of the lectures are: • Wed., Sept. 12: The Disintegration of Yugoslavia, the Dayton Accords and the Formation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Presenters: Dale L. Smith, Professor of Global Studies, UNC Charlotte, and Kristina Drye, a UNC Charlotte graduate currently pursuing a Masters in Security Studies at the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. • Wed., Sept. 26: The Political and Electoral Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Presenter: Dino Hadić, Doctoral candidate in political science, Washington University. • Wed., Oct. 3: The 2018 Presidential Election: Parties and Candidates: Presenter: Suad Arnautović, Professor of Political Science at the University of Sarajevo and member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Central Election Commission. • Wed., Oct. 17: Presidential Election Results and What They Mean for Bosnia. Panel discussion with participants to be announced later. • Mon., Oct. 22: A discussion with Mirsad Hadžikadić about his campaign experiences. All events except the Oct. 22 discussion will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Room 281 of the College of Health and Human Services on UNC Charlotte’s main campus. Visitor parking is available in the Student Union parking deck for a minimal fee. No registration is required. The Oct. 22 discussion with Hadžikadić will begin at 6:30 pm. at UNC Charlotte Center City, 320 E. 9th Street (Charlotte 28202). A reception will follow the discussion. RSVPs (click here) are required for this event, and parking information will be emailed to RSVPs several days prior to the event. Bosnia Herzegovina has a complicated three-person presidency whose members collectively serve as head of state. According to the country’s constitution, the Presidency consists of one Bosniak, one Croat and one Serb. If successful, Hadžikadić will be the Bosniak president and will serve a four-year term. Bosnia and Herzegovina is deeply divided along social, religious and cultural lines and, according to many observers, is increasingly at risk of dissolution and absorption by its neighbors, Serbia and Croatia. As a Bosnian, Hadžikadić wants his country to unite, to stand on its own, and eventually to be welcomed into the European Union and NATO. “I want to show that our differences can be a source of strength instead of a cause for hatred and division,” he said. The lecture series is cosponsored by the Department of Global Studies, the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, the College of Computing and Informatics and the Office of International Programs at UNC Charlotte.