Mark Kennedy is dedicated to strengthening America’s alliances and their mutually beneficial economic power projection. Kennedy applies experiences as a first-generation college graduate, Congressman, university president, senior executive of one of America's largest retailers, presidentially appointed member of the Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations, founder of the Economic Club of Minnesota and author of an Ivy League published book. Kennedy has engaged wide cross-sections of society in over 45 countries, including refugee camps and war zones. An appointed Civic Leader supporting the Secretary of the Air Force, Mark has visited over 40 military bases and three aircraft carriers at sea.
"This is really more a response to the very aggressive military buildup that China has had, as opposed to anything we're doing that would be provoking to China," Mark Kennedy, director of the Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition at the Wilson Center, told VOA.
Contributions to Wilson Center Publication - Moments of Clarity - February 8, 2023
Technology restrictions only succeed in tandem with other advanced economies. As restrictions bifurcate markets, America will lose foreign consumers unless it embraces trade.
Quoted in Voice of America article - February 8, 2023
“There has not been a broad-based decoupling … and many economists are seeing that there really hasn't been a significant onshoring or reshoring. There are still strong ties, and to break those ties with China would be both difficult and costly.”
"Finding the right balance between markets and intervention is key. Close collaboration with allies is also vital. America faces a peer rival: China. Only in tandem with its allies can the US achieve the scale to sustain the international order and deter aggression."
Interactive Profile in Wilson Quarterly - February 2, 2023
"The result of America's inward turn is to step aside as other nations negotiate preferential access and define the terms to trade, sacrificing the jobs that go with that trade and the influence that comes from the associated interactions. Perhaps no other nation has benefited more from America's trade resistance than China."
“Succeeding in strategic competition is the animating imperative of our time and the goal of WISC,” said Mark Kennedy, the Director of the new program. “It is an honor to lead such meaningful work in partnership with the many scholars and experts of the Wilson Center.”
Narrowing in to understand the trade relationships between China and strategic sectors in the Western Hemisphere should be a fundamental task for [the China select] committee and the 118th Congress to undertake. Ideally, this would lead to actionable results providing tangible economic opportunities for the U.S. and its partners in the region.
“It will be interesting to see what the final Treasury regulations are able to do, but many believe this is going to require a legislative fix,” Kennedy said. “The accommodations that are so far in the Treasury ruling are not of great significance related to the concerns the European community has.”
Kennedy argued that Washington should have negotiated with all its major industrial partners before passing such a sweeping piece of legislation.
“Climate concern is a global concern,” he added. “Having a more coordinated approach to it, as opposed to something that moves down a protectionist path, is more likely to achieve the climate objectives in an efficient manner.”
"Whether it's health care, education, financial services or agriculture, the U.S. remains a technological leader in all areas that could benefit Africa. The U.S. still has strong ties across Africa. But given that we're dealing with a peer rival and given that they are prioritizing Africa and giving it a lot of attention, it will require the United States to do more."
"I am pleased that the Biden administration has agreed to discuss South Korea's concerns regarding the Inflation Reduction Act," he said in an email interview with The Korea Times.
"Just as America wants to ensure that others abide by the terms of trade agreements, it is important that America does so as well."
Minister Fumio Kishida’s recent introduction of a roadmap to increase Japanese spending on defense from 1 percent of GDP to 2 percent of GDP certainly continues the spirt of Shinzo Abe.
Attended Course at Maxwell Air Force Base - May 10-12
Learned a lot at the United States Air Force Air University Air War College National Security Forum at Maxwell Air Force Base, including seeing the F-22 Raptor Demo Team.
Thanks to Colonel Becky Beers and the team at Los Angeles Garrison and Space Systems Command - SSC for an excellent briefing. The US Space Force Guardians there are doing great work keeping our nation safe.
Vandenberg Space Force Base
Briefing and Tour - Mary 4, 2022
Thanks to Col. Robert Long, US Space Force Space Launch Delta 30 commander, for briefing me in my role as a civilian advisor to the Secretary of the Air Force. Col Long also gave Debbie Kennedy and I a tour of Space Launch Complex-6 to brief me on on Vandenberg Space Force Base’s commercial launch capabilities. (U.S. Space Force photo by Airman 1st Class Rocio Romo)
Thanks to Richard Cook, Mars Sample Return Program Manager at NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration's NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Cal Tech - California Institute of Technology Here with replicas of JPL's NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover and Ingenuity Mars helicopter.
Very informative meeting with Yasuyuki Kasai, Director General of National Space Policy Secretariat in Japan's Cabinet Office discussing U.S. - Japan collaboration in Space.
Learned a lot from my visit to Japan's JAXA Tsukuba Space Center. They are a great NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration -partner. Here inside model of Japanese Experiment Module “Kibo” of the International Space Station.
"China sending a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile circling the globe in near earth orbit and then maneuvering toward its target should make it clear that the imperative to preserve leadership in space is nothing to joke about.” “Russia’s recent satellite destruction affirms, the new high ground is space, and it is contested."
U.S. SPACE FORCE RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS
MEETING WITH BRIG. GEN. OLSON, CHAMPION FOR CU RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP - APRIL 4, 2022
Meeting with fellow U.S. Air and Space Force Civic Leader Christian Anschutz and Brig. Gen. John Olson, Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Officer for the Department of the Air Force and Col. Marc Brock, Commander of Space Delta 2
As Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Economic Club of Minnesota, I helped establish the Bill Frenzel Champion of Free Trade Award to promote the importance of expanded trade.
I appreciated current University of North Dakota Andrew Armacost recognizing my contributions as the immediate past President of UND as he accepted UND's American Council on Education / Fidelity Investments Award for Institutional Transformation. Congrats to whole UND Team.
It was wonderful to welcome Bob Costa as part of my Frontiers of Freedom Lecture Series at the McCarthy Center at the College of St. Benedict - St. John's Univerity.
Here’s hoping that the Netflix series concludes in season two, but that with the United States Space Force being Semper Supra, always above, our democracy will “live long and prosper.”
Hill Air Force Base, Utah
US Air and Space Force Civic Leaders Visit - November 4-5, 2021
The partnership program will also serve the Colorado Springs campus, said system President Mark Kennedy, with potential to expand to the Denver and Anschutz campuses.
President Mark Kennedy and host Emily Davies speak with serial entrepreneur, Stan Lapidus, about his accomplishments and insights on business collaboration in advancing health care, from ingenuity to implementation.
SPEECH: WORLD TRADE CENTER DENVER - WORLD TRADE DAY - MAY 21, 2021
"As the most significant player in the digital space, America has the most to gain or lose, but ironically, at exactly the worse time to do so, we opted to sit on the sidelines and complain as we continue to watch the rest of the world define the rules for us.
Speech: Winter Night Club - Colorado Springs - January 21, 2021
None of us have lived in a world where a democracy was not home to the most advanced technology. Only recently have we begun to worry about whether an autocratic nation could achieve technological leadership and what the consequences would be if it did.
"Colorado’s powerful convergence of academic, industry, government and philanthropic assets set us apart from the pack. We are uniquely positioned to meet Space Command’s needs and help advance its mission and strategic priorities."
Panel at University of North Dakota - February 7, 2019
Geo-political and military experts with US Air Force and US Navy (Vice-Admiral Mike Franken) backgrounds converge on UND to discuss evolving meaning of “peace through strength”.
Hosted conversations between Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Reserve Affairs and Airman Readiness John Fedrigo and University of North Dakota Aerospace on collaboration in training Air Force pilots.