School of Business

Head of Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development will present the Walter S. Sutton Ethics Lecture

The KU School of Business and the International Center for Ethics in Business present Klaus M. Leisinger, president and CEO, Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development. He will deliver the 2005 Walter S. Sutton Ethics Lecture, “Human Rights and Business: Corporate Ethics Challenges for the Pharmaceutical Industry” on April 19, 7:00 p.m. in the Woodruff Auditorium of Kansas Memorial Union. The lecture is free to the public and tickets are not required.

Klaus M. Leisinger is the Executive Director and Delegate of the Board of Trustees of the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development. In addition, he has served as President of the Foundation since 2002. He also teaches and conducts research as Professor of Sociology at the University of Basel, Switzerland. He also serves in an advisory capacity to such international organization as the United Nations Development Program and the World Bank.

The Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development stems from the conviction that the private sector has a role in development policies and humanitarian issues. The fact that there are still 2.8 billion people in the world today who have to live on less than two US dollars a day, that 40 million people are suffering from HIV/AIDS, and that 14 million children die of avoidable diseases every year demands a lending hand from relevant actors in society – including the private sector.

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Prize winner to discuss an economist’s prioritization of the biggest challenges the world faces

Nobel Prize winner Dr. Vernon L. Smith will present a public lecture, “World Issues and the Role of the Economist,” on April 27. Professor Smith was one of the expert panelists who participated in the so-called Copenhagen Consensus, where some of the world’s greatest economists gathered to assess the biggest challenges in the world. Here they essentially asked themselves, “How would you spend $50 billion on the world’s most pressing issues?” Smith will discuss his response to that question.

The lecture, sponsored by The Center for Applied Economics at the KU School of Business is open to the public. Tickets are not required. The lecture will be at 7:00 p.m. in Woodruff Auditorium, Kansas Union.

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With April 15 looming, some KU Business School students are easing the pain of filing personal taxes, and they’re doing it for free.

Through a service called Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA), business student Adam Sweet said he found a way to use his tax knowledge to help others. “I took income tax accounting last fall, and it interested me. So I thought this would be an opportunity for me to apply what I learned.”

Sweet scheduled his shifts for every other Saturday morning at KU’s Green Hall, and since the beginning of March, he’s been assisting qualified filers at no cost.

“This is a way for me to further my professional education and help other people at the same time,” Sweet said.

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The Business School was among the participants in "KU in the Capitol," held March 16th. Business School staff and students had an opportunity to share information with legislators and policy makers at the Statehouse in Topeka.

For more information visit the School of Business website.