Edward G. Rubin

“Charity Begins in Washington, DC”

A preeminent interdisciplinary scholar in the areas of public governance, and currently Dean at Vanderbilt University School of Law, Edward G. Rubin is the author of numerous publications. His lecture in October 2004 focused on how the advent of the modern administrative state has changed the moral foundations of charity. He advocates that instead of private giving, citizens should vote for comprehensive social welfare programs.

"Choosing Gatekeepers: The Financial StatementInsurance Alternative to Auditor Liability”

Lawrence Cunningham, Professor of Law at Boston College Law School and a prolific legal scholar and authority on corporate finance, accounting, and mergers and acquisitions, addressed the School of Law community on November 11, 2004. His lecture explored corporate reporting reform, proposing financial statement insurance as an alternative to the existing model of financial statement auditing backed by auditor liability.

“An Economic Justice Imperative”

In January 2005, Susan R. Jones, Professor of Law at the George Washington University National Law Center, discussed the need for critical examination of current economic justice in light of globalization and technological advances. Those advances, she said, are changing the nature of work and creating information inequality as well as an overall widening of the power gap. Professor Jones is the director of The George Washington University Law School’s small business clinic.

“Deceit and Denial: The Deadly Disease of Industrial Politics”

A leading authority and researcher in occupational health and safety and former Chair of the Thematic Studies Department at John Jay College, Gerald Markowitz presented a lecture in February 2005, exploring a variety of aspects of health policy, with special focus on the reaction of the lead paint and chemical industries’ response to the questions about product danger to public health. Markowitz detailed how his book, Deceit and Denial, provides answers to questions of dangerous environmental degradation and escalating corporate greed, while offering suggestions for changing policy to offer greater protection to consumers.

“Security, Justice, and Liberty in a Free Society”

The former British Attorney General and Solicitor General under Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major, Sir Nicholas is the longest continually serving law officer of the Royal Crown. His April 2005 lecture focused on the nature of terrorism, the strengths and risks inherent in a free society, and the importance of defending and sharing the “priceless inheritance” of the U.K. and the U.S.