ORONO (AP) — The former U.S. ambassador to Syria is speaking at the University of Maine.

Robert Ford, who held the position from 2011 until earlier this year, will discuss domestic policies and U.S. strategy in Syria on Monday at the Buchanan Alumni House.

Ford served for three decades in the U.S. Department of State and the Peace Corps. The Maryland resident went to Syria in 2011 during the civil war and worked with Syrian opposition forces and helped bring them to the Geneva peace talks.

Ford is also a scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C., and teaches at Johns Hopkins University.