October 13, 2010 - William R. (Bill) Johnston, former president of the New York Stock Exchange, will join three Samford University professors on a panel to discuss the status of Wall Street reform two years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers investment banking firm and the creation of the federal Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). "Financial Reform After the Wall Street Meltdown," a public program on Tuesday, Oct. 19, will be held at 4 p.m. in the Brock Forum of Samford's Dwight Beeson Hall. A reception will follow.
Mr. Johnston's perspective on today’s issues was gained over a 40-year career in New York’s financial services industry, culminating as president, chief operating officer and director of the New York Stock Exchange. Now retired, he continues to be a keen observer of industry trends and proposed regulatory reforms. Joining Mr. Johnston on the panel are Steven Jones and Melissa Woodley, both members of the Brock School of Business finance faculty, with Mann Center Director John Knapp moderating.
October 13, 2010 - Teachings of the three Abrahamic faith traditions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) may offer sound principles to guide global economic reform. This was the conclusion of an interfaith gathering of scholars in theology and corporate responsibility organized by Caux Round Table, an international organization of business leaders promoting global standards for a more moral capitalism. The Mann Center was a co-sponsor of the gathering.
The 12-page Mountain House Statement (so called for retreat's location at Mountain House in Caux, Switzerland) asserts that "people of faith have unique resources" and an obligation to contribute to the dialog on economic reform. "Our traditions insist that there is an inherent social dimension to the human experience of life. We should, therefore, construe those circles of community expansively and generously. . . . The voices of the Prophets have long called all our communities to heed the overlooked voices of the powerless and the disadvantaged, and the too-often ignored voice of God."
Mann Center Director John Knapp participated in the retreat convened by Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, former Archbishop of Washington, D.C.; Ronald Thiemann, Bussey Professor of Theology and former Dean at the Harvard Divinity School; and Ibrahim Zein, Professor of Islamic Studies and Comparative Religion and Dean of the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization at the International Islamic University, Malaysia. Related resource: The Mountain House Statement.