Thomas Hubbard, senior director at McLarty Associates in Washington, D.C. and former United States Ambassador to the Republic of Korea and the Philippines, will present the Helen Crow Mills and John Carroll Mills Lecture at UA on Thursday, Nov. 2, at 11 a.m. in 125 ten Hoor Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Hubbard will discuss his career as a foreign service officer.
Born in Kentucky, Hubbard is a University of Alabama graduate, receiving his bachelor’s degree in political science from the College of Arts and Sciences in 1965. Since then, he has been awarded honorary doctorates from his alma mater and the University of Maryland.
Hubbard served as the U.S. ambassador to the Philippines from 1996 to 2000, as well as the U.S. ambassador to South Korea from 2001 to 2004. Prior to this, he served seven years in Japan and was deputy chief of mission and acting ambassador in Malaysia.
An important figure in Korean Peninsula affairs during the 1990s, Hubbard was in charge of the first senior-level U.S. government delegation to North Korea. In addition, he was involved in the 1994 Agreed Framework, where he was a primary negotiator. The Framework aimed to end North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. He also served as President Clinton’s envoy to promote human rights and democracy in Burma.
During his vast career, the former ambassador also worked stateside, serving as the Philippine desk officer, country director for Japan and principal deputy assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
Hubbard currently serves as the senior director of the Asia-Pacific division of McLarty Associates, an international strategic advisory firm. The firm consists of former diplomats, journalists, business people, intelligence officers and trade negotiators who work closely with clients to determine the international opportunities, problems or tools available to the client.
The Mills Lecture, presented by the College of Arts and Sciences, was established by Mrs. Helen Mills Pittman and her late husband, Dr. John Carroll Mills of Birmingham. The lecture works to bring successful and distinguished alumni to campus to encourage and motivate students.
A graduate of the College of Human and Environmental Sciences, Helen Mills received her bachelor’s degree from the University in 1959. Currently, she serves as president of Crow Real Estate and Insurance Co. in Birmingham, as well as on the Leadership Board of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences.
John Mills graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences in 1955, receiving his bachelor’s degree in pre-dental studies. In 1958, he graduated from UA’s School of Dentistry in Birmingham, where he practiced endodontics for 29 years.
Mills served on the American Board of Endodontics and was the only board-certified endodontist in private practice in Alabama for several decades. Mills became the director of the endodontic program at UA’s School of Dentistry in Birmingham after leaving private practice.