John L. Hirsch (History PhD’65) met with graduate students from History, Political Science, Geography, and Development Studies to discuss their research topics. As a former U.S. Ambassador to Sierra Leone in the 1990s and having served in the State Department in Somalia and South Africa, Hirsch offered special insight and also a few amusing anecdotes. He also presented a talk at the African Studies Program’s Africa at Noon lecture series on “Strengthening Peace and Security in Africa: The Next 20 Years.” While a graduate student at Wisconsin in the early 1960s Hirsch studied under George Mosse and took one of his first Africa courses with Phil Curtin. He is now a senior adviser to the International Peace Institute. Hirsch’s October, 2012, visit was sponsored by the African Studies Program.