May 12, 2009
Bowling
Green, Ky. - Dr. Brian Strow has been appointed as the first BB&T Professor for the Study of Capitalism
in Western Kentucky University’s Gordon Ford College of Business.
“I would like to thank BB&T and John Allison for their wonderful contribution to support this professorship,” Dr. Strow said. “If ever there was a time to talk about the benefits of capitalism now is the time since capitalism is under such attack.”
BB&T Corporation made a $1 million commitment to WKU to create the professorship. Allison is chairman of the BB&T Board of Directors and retired as CEO last December.
“The BB&T Professorship in Economics for the Study of Capitalism, with the appointment of Dr. Brian Strow as its first recipient, will enable the Gordon Ford College and WKU to become a national leader in the area of capitalistic research and thought,” said Dr. William Tallon, dean of the Gordon Ford College of Business. “Dr. Strow and the new Center for the Study of Capitalism will be regarded as a tremendous resource for those individuals and organizations desiring to learn more about the benefits of Capitalism and the Free Market System and how these important concepts can lead to a better society in general.”
Dr. Strow has been a faculty member in WKU’s Department of Economics since 1999. His research and teaching interests include economic history and business ethics.
“This professorship helps the business college focus on the fact that ideas matter,” Dr. Strow said. “We can’t take it for granted that people believe capitalism is the appropriate foundation for the future.”
He cited a recent survey that showed 27 percent of Americans believe that capitalism is not the best way to organize a society. “I’ve got my work cut out for me,” Dr. Strow said.
As the economic climate changes, Dr. Strow has seen renewed interest among students wanting to learn more about the ideas that built capitalism and its moral philosophy.
“A lot of the talk about our economic downturn has been overblown,” he said, adding that the recession shouldn’t be compared to the Great Depression. “The situation in 1982 was worse than today. A lot of wealth was created between 1982 and 2009 and I expect a lot of wealth to be created between 2009 and 20 years from now.
“Wealth creation is good. It’s not evil. I have yet to see a starving person fed by wealth destruction.”
Dr. Strow is concerned about the government’s increasing intervention into business.
“Voluntary transactions are morally superior to the use of force,” he said. “When you force people to buy or sell at a certain price, you are by definition stealing from somebody. When you allow people to engage in voluntary transactions, it is a win-win situation.”
Dr. Strow will begin his duties as BB&T Professor in July. His goals include incorporating ideas from Ayn Rand into his history of economic thought class; attending a conference for BB&T professors; developing a summer camp for high school students to study capitalism; publishing research on the moral foundations of capitalism; continuing to study capitalism in an international context; creating a website and blog to keep WKU and the community informed about his work; and making presentations to community organizations and groups about capitalism.
“This is absolutely the best time to be engaged in promoting the moral upside of capitalism,” Dr. Strow said.
Dr. Strow, a former Bowling Green city commissioner, received his bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College and his master’s and Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University. He is a native of Ottawa, Ill.
He and his wife, Claudia, have three children with a fourth expected later this year.
More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu and at http://wkunews.wordpress.com/. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
For information, contact Brian Strow at (270) 781-4207.
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