Free Market Speaker Series
Each semester we invite speakers from the business and academic world who address the underlying principles of a market economy. Students, faculty, alumni, and the Charleston business community are invited to attend our events.
9/11 - Anthony Gill | 10/3 - Undivide Us Screening | 10/16 - Justin Callais | 11/11 - John Chisholm
Fall 2024
Dr. Anthony Gill: “The Economic Importance of Civil Society, Norms, and Governance”
Wednesday, September 11, 2024 | 6:00 PM | Wells Fargo Auditorium
Political economy often starts with explaining markets, noting market failure, and then jumping straight to governmental policy solutions to "fix" the economy. Unfortunately, this ignores a major area of social life that exists between markets and states -- civil society. Using some experimental data and the notion of "humanomics," Prof. Gill will demonstrate that civil society, which exists all around us, is very good at solving economic and social dilemmas and should be given the first opportunity to act before government.
Anthony Gill (Ph.D. UCLA; B.A. Marquette) is Professor of Political Science at the University of Washington, a Distinguished Research Scholar at Baylor University’s Institute for the Study of Religion, an affiliate scholar at the American Institute for Economic Research, and a member of the Mont Pelerin Society. He is the author of Rendering unto Caesar (Chicago) and The Political Origins of Religious Liberty (Cambridge). While still writing on religious liberty and religion and politics, Prof. Gill’s current research agenda examines the endurance of religious institutions, user-generated governance systems, and norms and rituals in coordinating economic behavior. He teaches courses in political economy, public choice, and religion & politics, and earned the UW’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 1999. Not that he considers it important, although his university does, Tony is a first-generation college student. He is an avid boxer, enjoys scuba diving and hiking, drinks low quality bourbon, and has completed two marathons. You can discover more at https://anthonygill.org.
Screening of "UNDIVIDE US" and Q&A with Ben Klutsey
Thursday, October 3, 2024 | 5:30 PM | Septima P. Clark Auditorium (ECTR 118)
Co-Sponsored with the Civility Initiative
As news and social media amplify a narrative of an America on the brink of civil war, politicians in Washington, DC stir conflict: red against blue, rich against poor, urban against rural, race against race, and man against woman. They cast us as enemies locked in battle, usurping power and posing as our saviors.
UNDIVIDE US challenges the idea that citizens who disagree are not capable of civil conversation and demonstrates the truth that, even in our differences, the American experiment is still alive and well.
It exposes the power players in Washington DC as the true disruptors of peace, driving our legitimate differences to the brink of disaster. Hear from experts about the roots of this toxic polarization and learn how to counteract it in our local communities and lives.
Ben Klutsey is the Executive Director of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Before stepping into this role, he led the Mercatus Center’s Program on Pluralism and Civil Exchange, an initiative dedicated to fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation for pluralism as a fundamental pillar of a free, flourishing, and prosperous society. In that role, he ran the Pluralist Lab, a series of structured sessions that bring students from different backgrounds and perspectives together to practice conversation across those differences. Klutsey is passionate about driving meaningful dialogue and advancing ideas and practices that sustain a free and open society. He holds an MA in International Commerce and Policy from George Mason University and a BA in Government and Philosophy from Lawrence University.
Dr. Justin Callais: "Economic Freedom, Inequality, and Income Mobility"
Wednesday, October 16, 2024 | 6:00 PM | Wells Fargo Auditorium
This talk will summarize the topics regarding inequality and income mobility, with an emphasis on the role that economic freedom plays. Dr. Callais will briefly touch on his report: Social Mobility in the 50 States.
Justin Callais is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and Chief Economist at the Archbridge Institute, where he is also Co-Editor of Profectus Magazine. Justin completed my Ph.D. in Agricultural and Applied Economics from Texas Tech University, where he was a Research Assistant at the Free Market Institute. His research is on economic development, public choice, and income mobility. His articles have been published in journals such as the European Economic Review, Journal of Comparative Economics, Southern Economic Journal, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, and Public Choice.
Spaulding Speaker Series: John Chisholm
Monday, November 11, 2024 | 6:00 PM | Wells Fargo Auditorium
Previous Speakers
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2020-2024
- Spring 2024
- Dr. Gary A. Wagner, Acadiana Business Economist/BORSF Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
- Spring 2023
- Robert Chatfield, President & Chief Executive Officer of Free to Choose Network
- John C. Mozena, President of the Center for Economic Accountibility
- Fall 2022
- Lauren Heller, Berry College, Professor of Economics in the Campbell School of Business and the Assistant Provost for Teaching and Research
- Sam Staley, DeVoe Moore Center, Director
- Spring 2022
- Alicia Plemmons, Assistant Professor in the Department of General Business at West Virginia University
- Fall 2021
- Patrick Reasonover, They Say It Can’t be Done, Lead Producer
- Benjamin Powell, Texas Tech University, Executive Director of the Free Market Institute and a Professor of Economics
- Fall 2020
- Deirdre Nansen McCloskey, University of Illinois at Chicago, Professor Emerita of Economics and of History, and Professor Emerita of English and of Communication
- Matt Ridley, scientist, journalist, national newspaper columnist and columnist and chairman of the International Centre for Life, in Newcastle, England,
- Spring 2020
- Robby Soave, Senior Editor at Reason
- Spring 2024
-
2014-2019
- Fall 2018
- Thomas Leonard, Princeton University, Research Scholar in the Humanities Council, and Lecturer in the Department of Economics
- Siri Terjesen, American University’s Kogod School of Business, Professor and Dean’s Research Fellow in Entrepreneurship
- Spring 2018
- Sun Zhe, Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, adjunct senior research scholar and co-director of the China Initiative
- Fall 2017
- Gary Libecap, Bren School, research focused on the legal, economic, and policy aspects of water allocation in the western United States
- Marion Smith, National Civic Art Society, Chairman
- Paul Gregory, University of Houston and Hoover Institution/Stanford, Professor of Economics at the University of Houston and research Fellow
- Spring 2017
- Dwight Lee, affiliated with the O’Neil Center for Global Markets and Freedom, Senior Fellow
- Fall 2015
- Randy Simmons, Utah State University, professor in the Department of Economics and Finance
- Fall 2014
- Timur Kuran, Duke University, Professor of Economics and Political Science, and Gorter Family Professor of Islamic Studies
- John Cerasuolo, the Beacon Center of Tennessee, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of ADS Security
- Sarah Skwire, Liberty Fund, Fellow and author of Writing with a Thesis
- Spring 2014
- Joe Scarlet, retired chairman and CEO of Tractor Supply Company and founder of the Scarlett Leadership Institute Bruce Benson, Florida State University, research professor, courtesy professor of Law and Economics department chair
- Virginia Postrel, Author of The Power of Glamour: Longing and the Art of Visual Persuasion
- Fall 2018
-
2008-2013
- Fall 2013
- Surse Pierpoint, Colon Import & Export, General Manager
- Nigel Ashford, Institute for Humane Studies, senior program officer
- Spring 2013
- Jerry Jordan, Pittsburg National Bank and First Interstate Bancorp, Commercial banking
- Fall 2012
- Wayne Leighton, Universidad Francisco Marroquín Guatemala (UFM), professor and Executive Director of The Antigua Forum
- David Nott, the Reason Foundation, President
- Yaron Brook, Ayn Rand Institute, President
- Spring 2012
- John Allison, BB&T, former CEO and President
- Deirdre McCloskey, University of Illinois at Chicago, Professor of Economics, History, English and Communications
- Peter G. Klein, University of Missouri, Associate Professor of Applied Social Science and Director of the McQuinn Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership
- Fall 2011
- Larry White, Distinguished Senior Fellow of the F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics and Economics of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University
- Spring 2011
- Tara Smith, University of Texas, Professor of Philosophy
- Russell Roberts, George Mason University, Professor of Economics
- Fall 2010
- Virginia Postrel, The Role of Glamour in Political Economy
- Bruce Yandle, "Whose Garden Was this? Property Rights and the Environment"
- Spring 2010
- Mallory Factor, FACTOR INC, President
- Peter J. Boettke, George Mason University, Professor of Economics and Philosophy
- John Stossel, Currently host of Fox Business News
- Fall 2009
- Thomas DiLorenzo, Loyola College in Maryland, Professor of Economics
- Benjamin Powell, Suffolk University, Assistant Professor of Economics
- Spring 2009
- Michael C. Munger, Professor Chair, Duke University, Political Science and Professor of Economics
- Robert Lawson, Auburn University, Associate Professor of Finance
- John A. Allison, IV, BB&T Corporation, Chairman and CEO
- Fall 2008
- Gerald Dwyer, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Vice President
- Russel Sobel, West Virginia University, James Clark Coffman Distinguished Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies
- Fall 2013