First U.S. Ambassador-at-large for Arctic Affairs and 11th Airborne Division colonel to open the 2026 KU Security Conference

April 22, 2026 - News

Ambassador Mike Sfraga, the first U.S. Ambassador-at-large for Arctic Affairs, and Colonel Russell Vanderlugt, commanding officer of the U.S. Army 11^th Airborne Division Arctic Aviation Command, will open the 2026 KU Security Conference on Tuesday, May 5. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Defense.

LAWRENCE, KS – The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas, in partnership with the KU Office of National Defense Initiatives and the KU Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, announced Mike Sfraga, the first U.S. Ambassador-at-large for Arctic Affairs, and Colonel Russell Vanderlugt, commanding officer of the U.S. Army 11^th Airborne Division Arctic Aviation Command, will be in conversation with Dole Institute Visiting Fellow Jerry Seib on Tuesday, May 5 at 7 p.m.

The program, “Arctic Security: The New Front Line,” will open the 2026 KU Security Conference hosted by the KU Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence, which is examining the Arctic’s emergence as a strategic focal point for the U.S. and its allies. KU International Affairs and KU Department of Political Science are co-sponsors of the program. Additional conference speakers and panel discussions will be announced in the coming weeks.

Ambassador Sfraga was nominated to serve as the first U.S. ambassador for Arctic affairs in 2023, and was previously appointed chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. He previously served as the founding director and then-chair and distinguished fellow of the Polar Institute, as well as director of the Global Risk and Resilience Program, at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. A Fulbright Scholar, Ambassador Sfraga co-developed and twice co-led the U.S. State Department’s inaugural Fulbright Arctic Initiative. Ambassador Sfraga has degrees from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he currently serves as interim president, and Bowling Green State University.

Colonel Vanderlugt assumed command of the 11^th Airborne Division’s Arctic Aviation Command at Fort Wainwright in 2024. He previously served as joint director of strategy and plans for the Alaskan NORAD Region and Alaskan Command at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Colonel Vanderlugt holds a doctorate degree in arctic and northern history from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Detailed information on this program can be found at doleinstitute.org. The program, which is free and open to the public, will take place at the Dole Institute and can be streamed live on the Institute’s website and YouTube channel. Members of the media wishing to attend this program are asked to contact Jackson DeAndrea at jackson.deandrea@ku.edu to make arrangements.

About the Dole Institute
The Dole Institute of Politics promotes a new era of leadership that uses politics to bring people together through opportunities that emphasize bipartisan cooperation, public service, and civic education and engagement, inspired by the leadership legacies of Senators Bob and Elizabeth Dole and the enduring civic contributions of the Greatest Generation.

For More Information:
Jackson DeAndrea, Dole Institute of Politics
jackson.deandrea@ku.edu
(785) 864-4900