Huffington Award Dinner

Schedule | About the Honoree | Tickets and Tables

The 2021 recipient of the Roy M. Huffington Award for Contributions to International Understanding is Dr. Robert M. Gates for his legacy in public service, education, and international relations. Dr. Gates served as the 22nd U.S. secretary of defense (2006–2011) under President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama, and the only defense secretary in U.S. history to be asked to remain in office by a newly elected president. Dr. Gates served eight U.S. presidents across both parties and on his last day in office, President Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor. The Honorable James A. Baker, III and Susan Baker and Muffet Blake will serve as honorary chairs and Maggie and Bruce Campbell and Sue and Randy Sim will serve as event chairs for the 2021 Huffington Award Dinner.

Named after Asia Society Texas Center's co-founder Roy M. Huffington, the Huffington Award distinguishes outstanding contributions that have furthered international understanding, welfare, and diplomacy on a global scale, and recognizes leaders who have been a major force on the international stage. It is the highest honor granted by Asia Society Texas Center. Past award recipients include President George H.W. Bush and former Secretary of State James A. Baker, III.

Please contact Janine Mae Arostique at JArostique@AsiaSociety.org or 713.496.9913 with any questions.

Dress for this event is business, cocktail, or international attire.

Schedule

6 p.m. Registration and Cocktail Hour
7 p.m. Program and Dinner

About the Honoree

Dr. Robert M. Gates served as the 22nd secretary of defense (2006-2011). He is the only secretary of defense in U.S. history to be asked to remain in office by a newly elected President. Dr. Gates served eight U.S. presidents across both parties. On Dr. Gates’s last day in office, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor.

Before becoming secretary of defense in 2006, Dr. Gates was the president of Texas A&M University, one of the nation’s largest universities. Prior to assuming the Texas A&M presidency on August 1, 2002, he served as interim dean of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M from 1999 to 2001.

Dr. Gates joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1966 and spent nearly 27 years as an intelligence professional. During that period, he spent nearly nine years on the National Security Council at the White House, serving four presidents of both political parties. Dr. Gates served as director of Central Intelligence from 1991 until 1993. He is the only career officer in CIA’s history to rise from entry-level employee to director. He served as deputy director of Central Intelligence from 1986 until 1989 and as assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser at the White House from January 20, 1989 until November 6, 1991, for President George H.W. Bush. Dr. Gates has been awarded the National Security Medal, the Presidential Citizens Medal, has three times received the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, and has three times received CIA’s highest award, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal.

He is the author of four books: Exercise of Power: American Failures, Successes, and a New Path Forward in the Post-Cold War World, published in 2020; A Passion For Leadership: Lessons on Change and Reform from Fifty Years of Public Service, published in 2016; Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War, published in 2014; and From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider’s Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War, published in 1996.

Dr. Gates currently is a partner in the consulting firm, Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel, LLC, with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley. He is a member of the NCAA Board of Governors, currently serving as one of its five independent members. Additionally, he is a member of the national executive board of the Boy Scouts of America, where he served as president of the National Eagle Scout Association from 1996-2006 and National President of the Boy Scouts of America from 2014-2016. He has also served on the board of directors of Starbucks, the board of directors and executive committee of the American Council on Education, the board of directors of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.

A native of Kansas, Dr. Gates received his bachelor’s degree from William & Mary, his master’s degree in history from Indiana University, and his doctorate in Russian and Soviet history from Georgetown University. In 1967, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force and served as an intelligence officer at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. In February 2012, Dr. Gates was installed as chancellor of William & Mary. He is the first William & Mary alumnus in the modern era to serve as chancellor. In May of 2018, Dr. Gates succeeded General Colin Powell as National Chairman of the Eisenhower Fellowships.

About the Moderator

Ali  Velshi is an MSNBC Anchor as well as Business Correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC. He brings his sharp analysis and point-of-view to the weekend morning show, “Velshi,” airing from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET on Saturdays and Sundays on MSNBC. Velshi has covered a wide range of domestic, global and economic issues throughout his career, including climate change, the spread and defeat of ISIS, the refugee crisis, the Iran nuclear deal, tensions between Russia and the west, the Greek debt crisis and the global financial crisis.

Prior to joining NBC News and MSNBC in 2016, Velshi hosted “Ali Velshi On Target,” a nightly primetime show on Al Jazeera America. Before that, he served as CNN’s Chief Business Correspondent, anchor of CNN International’s “World Business Today” and host of CNN’s weekly business roundtable “Your Money.” Velshi also co-hosted CNN’s morning show, “American Morning.”

An award-winning journalist, Velshi was honored with a National Headliner Award for Business & Consumer Reporting for “How the Wheels Came Off,” a special on the near collapse of the American auto industry. His work on disabled workers and Chicago’s red-light camera scandal in 2016 earned him two News and Documentary Emmy Award nominations, adding to a nomination in 2010 for his terrorism coverage. Additionally, Velshi has taken his economic analysis to “Oprah,” “The View,” and “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” Velshi is the author of Gimme My Money Back (Sterling and Ross, 2008) and co-author with CNN’s Christine Romans of How to Speak Money (Wiley, 2010).

Born in Kenya and raised in Canada, Velshi graduated from Queen’s University in Canada, which bestowed an honorary Doctorate of Laws upon him in 2016. Velshi splits his time between New York City and Philadelphia, where he teaches a course at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Velshi serves on the Boards of Trustees of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York (CUNY); the Chicago History Museum; Seeds of Peace; the XPrize Foundation; The National Constitution Center; and the Philadelphia Citizen. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Tickets and Tables

A letter acknowledging your contribution will be sent to the person(s) in which your gift was made in honor. Please complete the form and return it via mail.

Download the Form

For more sponsorship information, please contact Janine Mae Arostique at JArostique@AsiaSociety.org or 713.496.9913.

Individual tickets may be purchased: $300 Asia Society Members, $500 Nonmembers.

Purchase Tickets

In addition to the benefits listed below, attendees will receive a copy of Dr. Gates' book, Exercise of Power: American Failures, Successes, and a New Path Forward in the Post-Cold War World (2020).

Presenting Sponsor: $100,000

• Seating for two at event head table
• Public recognition from podium at dinner
• Inclusion of an individual/company representative on event host committee
• Featured logo or name placement in invitation, print program, promotional materials, and on-site signage
• Admission for all guests to the VIP Cocktail Reception
• Two premier dinner tables (seating for 20)
• Complimentary valet for all guests

Visionary: $50,000

• Seating for two at event head table
• Public recognition from podium at dinner
• Inclusion of an individual/company representative on event host committee
• Featured logo or name placement in invitation, print program, promotional materials, and on-site signage
• Admission for two to the VIP Cocktail Reception and all other guests to the pre-dinner Cocktail Hour
• One premier dinner table (seating for 12)
• Complimentary valet for all guests

Founders: $25,000

• Public recognition from podium at dinner
• Featured logo or name placement in invitation, print program, promotional materials, and on-site signage
• Inclusion of an individual/company representative on event host committee
• Admission for two to the VIP Cocktail Reception and all other guests to the pre-dinner Cocktail Hour
• One premier dinner table (seating for 10)
• Complimentary valet for all guests

Benefactors: $10,000

• Logo or name placement on invitation and print program
• Inclusion of an individual/company representative on event host committee
• Admission for all guests to the pre-dinner Cocktail Hour
• One priority dinner table (seating for 10)
• Complimentary valet for all guests

Ambassadors: $5,000 (Limited Availability)

• Logo or name placement on invitation and print program
• Admission for all guests to the pre-dinner Cocktail Hour
• One dinner table (seating for eight) OR sponsorship for a table of students
• Complimentary valet for all guests

Chairman: $2,500

• Inclusion of an individual/couple on host committee
• Priority dinner seating for two
• Admission for two guests to the VIP Cocktail Reception
• Complimentary valet

Presidents: $1,000

• Dinner seating for two
• Admission to pre-dinner Cocktail Hour
• Complimentary valet

Grand Patron: $500

• Dinner seating for one
• Admission to pre-dinner Cocktail Hour
• Complimentary valet

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