October 3, 2003

College of Business Administration brings economic and ethics scholars to campus in two lecture series

In the Ignatian tradition, Loyola's mission is to prepare and graduate individuals with the capability and motivation tobecome effective and socially responsible business and community leaders who possess a love for truth, the critical intelligence to pursue truth, and the eloquence to articulate truth. The strongest and most reliable engine for economic growth and the economic well being of society is a free market system. In this vein, the College of Business Administration sponsors two lecture seriesone in economics, the other in ethicsthat explore the values and ethics of free enterprise and the means by which it can strengthen our society.

The first speaker in the economics series is James M. Buchanan who discusses the "Public Choice: The Origins and Development of a Research Program," on Wednesday, October 22. The first speaker in the ethics series is Chris Lowney will present "Leadership Lessons from a 450-Company," on Wednesday, November 12. Both discussion will take place at 7 p.m. in Miller Hall, Room 114.

Renowned economist James M. Buchanan is holder of the 1986 Alfred Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences and currently serves as the advisory general director for the James M. Buchanan Center, and as the distinguished professor emeritus of economics at George Mason University. Buchanan has received numerous awards, including 17 honorary doctorates. His most well known work is the "public choice theory" of economics, which investigates how government economic policies are influenced by personal interests and non-economic forces. Buchanan received his bachelor's of arts degree from Middle Tennessee State College in 1940 and a master's of science degree from the University of Tennessee in 1941. He was awarded a doctorate degree from the University of Chicago in 1948 following his service in the United States Navy from 1941 until 1945. Buchanan has taught at a number of universities and institutions, including the University of Virginia, UCLA, and the Virginia Polytechnic Institution. In his current position as advisory general director at George Mason University, Buchanan plays a significant role in the development of an educational research organization with a strong emphasis in interdisciplinary studies of economics, law, and the humanities. Buchanan is author, co-author, or co-editor of 32 books and hundreds of articles in professional journals that have influenced broad audiences around the world. These books include: The Calculus of Consent: Logical Foundations of Constitutional Democracy, with Gordon Tullock; Cost and Choice; The Limits of Liberty; and Liberty, Market, and State.

Chris Lowney was promoted to managing director of J.P. Morgan and Co., while in his 30s. Today he is known as the author of Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450 Year Old Company that Changed the World. In Heroic Leadership, Lowney applies the four core values of self-awareness, ingenuity, love, and heroism. His book identifies practices once employed by priests in the 16^th century to train pupils who possessed strong leadership skills. In his book, Lowney provides a guide for the creation of innovative, goal-oriented leaders in the modern corporate environment that is based on the Jesuit principals he learned as a seminary student. Before joining J.P. Morgan, Lowney was a Jesuit seminarian for seven years during which he taught and studied at Jesuit institutions in the United States and Puerto Rico. He also received his undergraduate and masters of arts degree from Fordham University. Today, Lowney serves as special assistant to the president of the Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB), the U.S.-based Catholic charity providing health care programs and services to needy people around the world. In efforts to launch the board's major initiatives to end the AIDS crisis, Lowney has traveled to Kenya, South Africa, Zambia, India, and Central America. Twenty percent of Lowney's royalties from Heroic Leadership will be donated to charitable organizations providing health care and education to children in need.

Both the economics and ethics speaker series features two lectures, one this fall and one next spring. Rounding out the economics series is the Rev. James V. Schall, S.J., whose talk is titled "The Most Terrible Virtue: On the Natural Limits of Justice" and is scheduled for March 3, 2004, at 7 p.m. The Rev. Richard John Neuhaus completes the ethics series with a lecture, "Doing Well and Doing Good: Business as Christian Vocation," on March 31, 2004, at 7 p.m.