Mark Porubcansky ’77 will talk about foreign policy Monday

Mark Porubcansky ’77 of Marine on Saint Croix, Minnesota, and former foreign editor of the Los Angeles Times, will speak at 4:15 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, in Kreske Little Theatre, East Hall. The title of his talk is “You Can’t Always Get What You Want: Presidents, Promises and Foreign Policy.”

Porubcansky has been a correspondent and editor of foreign news for more than 30 years. In an 11-year career as a foreign correspondent for The Associated Press, he was based in Moscow, Vienna and Hong Kong. In Moscow, Porubcansky covered Mikhail Gorbachev’s reforms and the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Based in Vienna, he managed a team of journalists covering Central Europe’s post-Communist transition, and reported on the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s. In Hong Kong, he reported on the immediate aftermath of the territory’s handover to Chinese rule.

At the Los Angeles Times, he oversaw a team of correspondents on five continents, shaped coverage of major news events, and edited projects that won major U.S. journalism prizes. Times correspondents reporting to Porubcansky were finalists for the 2014 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting for their coverage of Syria.

At Ripon College, Porubcansky majored in politics and government, and philosophy. He retired from the Times in August 2014, and now is a contributor to MinnPost, an online news site based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

His talk is co-sponsored by the The Center for Politics and the People and the Office of Constituent Engagement and Career Services.


Related Posts

Ed Fruth, 1912, student and adult headshots

Edward Fruth, Class of 1912, elected to basketball coach Hall of Fame

E. D. (Edward Daniel) Fruth, Ripon College Class of 1912, has been elected to the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Fruth was at […]

Brad Balof, class of 2000, at rigth with his husband, Jason.

Struggles early shaped Brad Balof ’00 into activist, advocate

“I came to Ripon knowing that I’m gay,” says Brad Balof ’00. “While many would think moving to a small town would be a step […]

Frankie Reynolds ’14 with wife, Liz, and son, Hank.

A student leader at Ripon, Reynolds ’14 remains active in LGTBQ+ advocacy

Frankie Reynolds ’14, more commonly known as Rosette Reynolds during her time as a student at Ripon College, “came out” as a high school freshman […]

Photo of Ripon College alumna Lois Van Leer, Class of 1978

“I was terrified” — Van Leer ’78 describes being gay in the 1970s

The Rev. Lois Van Leer attended Ripon at a time when gay students had very few outlets to discuss their sexuality. She realized as a […]

Mark Porubcansky