Middle East expert and former ambassador to receive KU honor

Kenton Keith, c'61, is one of four alumni who will receive Distinguished Service Citations May 17 from the University and the Alumni Association. Since 1941, the DSC has been presented to men and women whose careers have benefited humanity. It is the highest honor bestowed by the University.

Kenton Keith

Another recipient, Tensie Oldfather, '64, of Lawrence, is profiled in the KANU article in this issue of KU Connection. The other recipients, Richard Davis, c'53, m'54, Leawood, Kan., and Alan Mulally, e'68, Mercer Island, Wash., will be profiled in the June issue. The four will march in the Commencement procession May 19.

Keith has made service to his country a lifelong vocation. After Sept. 11, he applied his Middle East expertise as creator and director of the Coalition Information Center in Islamabad, Pakistan, during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

His career began in the U.S. Information Agency, with postings to Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Syria before an assignment as deputy director for Near East, North African and South Asian Affairs. Other appointments include cultural attaché in Paris, U.S. Ambassador to Qatar, and a member of the U.S. delegation to the 1991 Madrid peace talks following the Gulf War.

In 1997, Keith took a senior vice president post with the Washington-based Meridian International Center, which promotes cultural dialogue through artistic and intellectual exchange programs.

He credits the late KU political science professor Cliff Ketzel and his parents for inspiring him to pursue foreign service. "For me, it's as natural as breathing to want to experience foreign cultures," he said during his return to campus in 2001, when he spoke to students in KU's Navy ROTC program. Keith served in ROTC during his days on the Hill and another four years as a naval officer.

Keith, who speaks several languages and has exhibited his black-and-white photography, grew up in Kansas City, Mo. His father, Jimmy, played tenor saxophone with the Harlan Leonard and Count Basie bands, and his mother, Gertrude, has been a longtime community activist. His father is a member of the Kansas City Jazz Hall of Fame.

Keith has received two presidential meritorious service awards, and the International Relations Council in Kansas City recognized him with its distinguished service award in 2001. From the French government he received the Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters. He serves as president of the Association of Black American Ambassadors.

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