COBE hosts Global Capitalism Lecture Series
Brady J. Deaton, chancellor emeritus at the University of Missouri, addressed the resilience of global capitalism in a lecture Oct. 7 at Radford University's College of Business and Economics (COBE) building.
Deaton spoke at the university as part of the COBE BB&T Global Capitalism Lecture Series. The series is part of a semiannual symposium to stimulate thought and discussion about capitalism, the tenets of free enterprise and the best practices of successful organizations
"It's an incredibly exciting time for business and economics for capitalism and market operations globally," Deaton said. "I do believe all of us in the field have to grab these opportunities and address some of the most fundamental issues we are facing as a society in order to prove that we are working in a system that can address the problems of human kind."
Deaton specifically addressed food security, climate change and poverty.
"To do this, it's going to require a tremendous new commitment to research across the board in the private sector and science and technology at our universities," Deaton said. "It's vital we know where we are going. We have these goals in front of us and we're making the commitments through the public sector and through the private sector and most importantly, through partnership of understanding that enables us to foresee the kind of challenges we are facing and then undertake the action."
Deaton said he is "very optimistic that a new and innovative type of capitalism with improved markets is on the horizon and we see the elements of that in a lot of the international agreements we have today."
In addition to the lecture, Deaton spent time touring the RU campus and meeting with faculty and students. Before the luncheon, he spoke about "Capitalism: The Transformation Continues" to an economics class taught by RU Economics Professor and Associate Dean George Santopietro.
"Dr. Deaton impressed upon the students the global challenge of producing food enough for a world population of nine to 10 billion people," Santopietro said. "He challenged them to think about how meeting world food demand will be influenced by factors such as the limited ability to expand production to new areas, the loss of production post-harvest, where the population growth is expected to occur, increasingly urban populations, support for free markets, and the need to find innovative ways of increasing food production. He pointed to China as an example of where increasing economic freedom has led to high rates of economic growth and alleviation of extreme poverty."
Deaton became the 21st chief executive officer of the University of Missouri (MU) in 2004. He joined the Missouri faculty as a professor and chair of the Agricultural Economics Department in 1989. He was appointed chief of staff in the Office of the Chancellor in 1993, deputy chancellor in 1997 and provost in 1998. He served as MU's chancellor from 2004 to 2013.
Deaton retired from his position as chancellor in 2013, and now leads the Brady and Anne Deaton Institute for University Leadership in International Development.
Former University of Missouri Chancellor Brady Deaton speaking at the COBE BB&T Global Capitalism Lecture Series luncheon.
Deaton joined a distinguished group of previous speakers who have participated in the BB&T-COBE series:
- Ann Cudd, distinguished professor of philosophy at the University of Kansas
- Russell S. Sobel, visiting scholar in entrepreneurship in the School of Business Administration at The Citadel
- Christopher Coyne, director of graduate studies of the Department of Economics at George Mason University
- Hamid Ghanadan, founder and president of the Linus Group
- Mary Rose Carosia and Theresa Werner of S&P Capital IQ
- Kevin Daley, a past vice president at the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency and founder of Communispond
- John Allison, former BB&T Chair and Chief Executive Officer
- Jason Bingham, vice president, Central Territory of North America, for Ingersoll Rand
- Keith Shields, senior statistician and analytic development lead for Marketing Associates in Detroit.
"The goal of the COBE Global Capitalism speaker series sponsored by BB&T is to encourage a discussion of the moral and economic foundations of capitalism on college campuses," COBE Dean George Low said. "Dr. Deaton, a world-renowned scholar on the subject of food production and its role in alleviating poverty and hunger, delivered a superb lecture on his vision of ‘enlightened capitalism.' This series is important for our college and the entire Radford University community because it gives us all the opportunity to step out of our functional silos and to consider the role we can all play in making the world a better place."