James Webb, former secretary of the Navy and a best-selling author, will present the annual Walter S. Sutton Ethics Lecture Wednesday night at Kansas University.

Webb, who served as secretary from 1987 to 1988 under former President Ronald Reagan, will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Woodruff Auditorium at the Kansas Union.

Webb resigned his position after refusing to agree to the reduction of Navy forces during a time of congressionally mandated budget cuts. More recently, he has been a strong vocal critic of President George W. Bush’s decision to go to war in Iraq.

He served with the 5th Marine Regiment in Vietnam and received the Navy Cross, the Silver Star Medal, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts.

He is author of six best-selling novels, including “Fields of Fire,” considered by many to be the classic novel of the Vietname War, and “Rules of Engagement,” which was made into a movie starring Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson.

The lecture, sponsored by the KU International Center for Ethics in Business and the School of Business, is free and open to the public.

Webb will meet with the media at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Governor’s Room on the fifth floor of the Kansas Union on KU’s main campus.