December 5 & 6, 2009, The "New Beginnings" policy study group met at Stanford University on December 5 and 6, 2009, to review the current state of the U.S.-ROK alliance and to discuss major issues in U.S. relations with the two Koreas. A joint project of The Korea Society and Stanford University's Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC), the non-partisan group's members include former Under Secretary of State Michael H. Armacost, Shorenstein APARC Director Gi-Wook Shin, Korea Economic Institute President Charles L. "Jack" Pritchard, and US-Korea Institute at SAIS Chairman Don Oberdorfer. The Korea Society is represented by its chairman, Ambassador Thomas Hubbard, and its president, Evans J. R. Revere. The New Beginnings group plans to release an assessment of U.S.-Korea ties and recommendations to the Obama Administration early in 2010. The Korea Society's support for, and participation in, the New Beginnings project is part of its ongoing effort to contribute to the public discourse on U.S.-Korea ties and to strengthen U.S.-ROK relations.