About Scona
The MSC Student Conference on National Affairs provides programs for students across Texas, the nation, and the world to exchange ideas and discuss the role of the United States in the global community. MSC SCONA was founded in 1955 by John Jenkins '56 and Bud Whitney '56, senior students in the Texas A& M University Corps of Cadets, after they had attended the 6th Student Conference on United States Affairs at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Jenkins and Whitney presented the idea to bring in students from the South and Southwest to a conference held at Texas A& M, as it would allow those students to engage in the same type of experience as West Point. The highest ranking military officer to speak at an MSC SCONA conference was GEN Martin Dempsey, USA, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in 2015. Purpose and structureEach year, MSC SCONA adopts a relevant topic to guide discussions, anchor policy proposals, and provide inspiration for the conference speakers and facilitators. The ~150 delegates represent universities across the United States and commonly include the Federal Service Academies, the seven United States Senior Military Colleges, and top schools from across the South. Although MSC SCONA once included high school students as well as delegates from Mexico and Canada, both practices have since been discontinued. Since at least as far back as the time of SCONA Finance Chairman Henry Cisneros, later the Secretary of United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, members of the committee have traveled to cities across Texas to raise private funds to operate the conference.
Scona Description
The MSC Student Conference on National Affairs provides programs for students across Texas, the nation, and the world to exchange ideas and discuss the role of the United States in the global community. MSC SCONA was founded in 1955 by John Jenkins '56 and Bud Whitney '56, senior students in the Texas A& M University Corps of Cadets, after they had attended the 6th Student Conference on United States Affairs at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Jenkins and Whitney presented the idea to bring in students from the South and Southwest to a conference held at Texas A& M, as it would allow those students to engage in the same type of experience as West Point. The highest ranking military officer to speak at an MSC SCONA conference was GEN Martin Dempsey, USA, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in 2015. Purpose and structureEach year, MSC SCONA adopts a relevant topic to guide discussions, anchor policy proposals, and provide inspiration for the conference speakers and facilitators. The ~150 delegates represent universities across the United States and commonly include the Federal Service Academies, the seven United States Senior Military Colleges, and top schools from across the South. Although MSC SCONA once included high school students as well as delegates from Mexico and Canada, both practices have since been discontinued. Since at least as far back as the time of SCONA Finance Chairman Henry Cisneros, later the Secretary of United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, members of the committee have traveled to cities across Texas to raise private funds to operate the conference.