Provost’s Seminar Series is hosting Brian Fonseca, Ph. D., Director of the Jack Gordon Institute for Public Policy and the Executive Director of Cybersecurity@FIU at Florida International University. Dr. Fonseca will lead the discussion “Securing the Digital Future: Threat Landscape, AI Workforce, Cyberhygiene, and Geopolitics,” on Thursday, January 29, 2026, 3 p.m.-4:30 p.m., in AB9 (The Water School), Room 106. More about the speaker: Dr. Fonseca is Director of the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy and an adjunct professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Florida International University’s (FIU) Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs. He is the founding Executive Director of Cybersecurity@FIU, FIU’s university-wide interdisciplinary emerging preeminent program. Brian also serves as a Cybersecurity Policy Fellow and International Security Fellow at the D.C.-based think tank New America. His analysis has been featured in local, national, and international media and he serves as the on-air political analyst for South Florida’s WSVN-Fox News. Brian has testified before the U.S. Congress in 2019 and 2021. His recent publications include two edited volumes titled Culture and National Security in the Americas (Lexington Books, 2017) with Eduardo A. Gamarra and Democracy and Security in Latin America (Routledge, 2021) with Orlando Perez and Gabriel Marcella, and he is co-author of The New US Security Agenda: Trends and Emerging Threats (Palgrave, 2017) with Jonathan Rosen. Brian’s technical expertise and publications focus largely on U.S. and Latin American governance, national security, and foreign policies, with particular focus on Venezuela, China, Russia, and cyberspace. Brian joined FIU after serving as the Senior Research Manager for Socio-Cultural Analysis at United States Southern Command’s Joint Intelligence Operations Center South (JIOC-S). Brian holds degrees in International Business and International Relations from Florida International University in Miami, Florida, and attended Sichuan University in Chengdu, China, and National Defense University in Washington D.C. From 1997 to 2004, he served in the United States Marine Corps and facilitated the training of foreign military forces in both hostile theaters and during peacetime operations.

To answer our Question of the Month, read our InSTALLment using the Online Location link in this event or reading it in the bathroom stalls on campus, sign in to RSVP, and RSVP YES to this event with your answer. Correct answers will be entered into a drawing for $10 to be added to your Eagle account! For more details on this raffle please see below.*   This month's Wellness InSTALLment is brought to you by Cessia Flores-Elwin!   *In order to participate for the $10 Eagle Dollars prize, students will need to answer our Question of the Month correctly. Eagle Dollars can be used wherever Eagle Dollars are accepted on FGCU’s campus. The question is located on the Wellness InSTALLment and the answer can be found within the Wellness InSTALLment. The Wellness InSTALLment can be seen via the Online Location Link in this event, on the University Recreation & Wellness website, or our physical InSTALLments in the bathroom. Students will submit their answer by signing into Eagle Link via their FGCU email and password and RSVPing YES to the event. Prevention & Wellness at Florida Gulf Coast University will be using funds from student health fees to award the $10 to the winner’s Eagle account. As a result, faculty and staff are ineligible to participate due to funding limitations. The winner will be chosen on the 1st of the following month between 8am-5pm via wheelofnames.com if they answered the question correctly, unless it falls on a weekend/holiday to which the following business day they will be chosen. All participants will be notified of the winner via their student email in addition to the correct answer. The prize will be awarded via Eagle account after we receive a signature on FGCU’s prize form which will be located in the Prevention & Wellness front desk in Cohen 161. Proof of identification via Eagle ID is needed. No purchase or contribution is necessary.

Provost’s Seminar Series is hosting Dr. Steve Knott, Emeritus Professor of History, US Naval War College. Dr. Knott will lead the "Conspirator-In-Chief: Conspiracy Theories and the American Presidency" seminar on Thursday, February 12, 2026, 3 p.m.-4:30 p.m., in AB9 (The Water School), Room 106.   More about the speaker: Stephen Knott, Ph.D., recently retired as a Professor of National Security Affairs at the United States Naval War College in Newport, RI. Prior to accepting his position at the Naval War College, Knott was Co-Chair of the Presidential Oral History Program at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. He is the author or co-author of eleven books dealing with the American presidency, the early republic, and American foreign policy. His most recent book, Coming to Terms with John F. Kennedy, was published in October, 2022.

Join your fellow Palmetto Hall residents & RA Hunter for a night of karaoke! Make connections, learn about what FGCU has to offer, and sing your hearts out!

Come thru sessions are a space where you can be yourself, meet new people, and have real conversations. Whether you're looking to make friends, share your story, or just have fun, each session is designed with students in mind.

Join your fellow Palmetto Hall residents and RA Savannah for Besties & Boards! Spend the night sipping on hot chocolate and creating a vision board!