April 6, 2009 at 8:00 am
The Boston University Women’s Studies program is hosting an event entitled “Well-behaved Women Rarely Make History” today at 3 PM in the Women’s Resource Center, 775 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Pulizter Prize Winning Author and Professor of History at Harvard University, will discuss her 2007 book. EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
April 3, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Mass Communication and Public Relations Professor Christopher Cakebread says NBC is upset about Boston station WHDH-TV deciding not to carry the new Jay Leno show at 10 p.m., in lieu of local news, because the network fears the move may spread.
"NBC's greatest concern is the domino effect that might occur if WHDH replaces Leno at 10 p.m. with a local news program. If the seventh largest market in the country can make this change, in order to provide a better local revenue stream, what's to stop other affiliates across the U.S. from doing the same thing?
"This will completely torpedo NBC's plan to abandon expensive scripted programming, during primetime, five days a week, so they can save production dollars by running a less-expensive-to-produce talk show. The stakes are very high, so NBC will go all out to convince WHDH to not make this change."
Contact Christopher Cakebread, 617-353-3476, ccakebre@bu.edu
April 3, 2009 at 3:08 pm
School of Management Professor James Post, an expert on corporate governance and business ethics, says the $210 million in retention bonuses for employees of bailed-out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are inappropriate under the economic circumstances.
"The news of retention bonuses at Fannie and Freddie gives me the same nauseous feeling I felt when looking at the newly released unemployment numbers. At a time when another 640,000 lost their jobs in the last month, bonuses ranging from a few hundred dollars to more than a million make no sense.
"Even if we assume the F&F employees are stellar performers, a 'bonus culture' should not be subsidized any longer. It is a mistake to turn them into mini-entrepreneurs, playing with public money. F&F employees are - emphatically - working for the citizens of this nation.
"So, two suggestions. First, start retraining the unemployed for those soon-to-be-vacated jobs at F&F. Second, eliminate the bonus culture from any organization receiving federal money. My strong suspicion is that those employees will still look forward to receiving their weekly or monthly paychecks."
Contact James Post, 617-353-4162, jepost@bu.edu
April 3, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Law Professor Linda McClain, an authority on family law, says the Iowa Supreme Court's ruling unconstitutional that state's same-sex-marriage ban is a big legal deal but likely will be challenged.
"This is major. What may happen next is an effort, as in California, to overturn the court by amending Iowa's constitution. By contrast to California, Iowans have not been living with a domestic partnership law for same-sex couples, so this is a very big development."
Contact Linda McClain, 617-358-4635, lmcclain@bu.edu
April 3, 2009 at 8:00 am
The Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center will host the opening of an exhibition of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s archives in an event honoring Christine King Farris tonight from 5-7 PM. Farris will be recognized as the first Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellow and will offer the inaugural MLK Jr. Leadership Lecture, speaking on her work and her personal memories of the King family. Poet Nikki Giovanni will also be participating. The event, which will include a reception, will be held in the Howard Gotlieb Memorial Gallery at 771 Commonwealth Ave. LECTURE IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
April 2, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Law Professor Cornelius Hurley, director of the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law and former counsel to the Fed Board of Governors, says the G-20 communique outlining new international financial regulatory reforms marks a new era.
"The specificity of the G-20 pact signals a new era of cross-border cooperation on an array of regulatory matters. On a broad range of issues - from banking to hedge funds to systemic risk - look for U.S. hegemony to be replaced by international consultation and cooperation."
Contact Cornelius Hurley, 617-353-5427, ckhurley@bu.edu
April 2, 2009 at 4:12 pm
With lawsuits filed against KPMG claiming that "reckless and grossly negligent audits" helped acclerate the collapse of subprime mortage lender New Century Financial, Law Professor Tamar Frankel - an authority on securities law - reminds of the legal role played by auditors.
"You cannot make accountants responsible for bad business plans or decisions. But they are responsible for approving violations of the spirit of the rule, if they know or should know of them."
Contact Tamar Frankel, 617-353-3773, tfrankel@bu.edu
April 2, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Boston University Metropolitan College has unveiled its newest degree, the Master of Science (MS) in Leadership. Launching this fall at the University’s campus in Brussels, this advantageous program will put students on the cutting-edge of leadership strategy. Offered part-time or full-time in the evenings, the MS in Leadership builds upon students’ interdisciplinary backgrounds, looking at leadership concepts and issues through sociological, psychological, and historical perspectives.
April 2, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Management, Strategy and Innovation Professor Professor N. "Venkat" Venkatraman from the School of Management says this year's 5 business-day scramble for temporary visas for foreign scientists and technology engineers is different this time around.
"It's the beginning of the latest cycle of applications for H-1B visas for highly qualified foreign-born workers intending to work in the USA. The number of H-1B visas granted each year is not large - 85,000 visas for a country of over 300 million people. Yet, there are heated discussions and debates about them.
"This year many companies receiving stimulus money are prohibited from hiring such workers. It's interesting that we do not restrict the source of financial capital to rebuild our economy, yet we restrict the source of human capital - especially those highly-skilled workers wanting to work in the USA and contribute to the build-out of the new corporate landscape.
"We need to start treating human talent and capital in ways different from the Industrial Age practices, as the value of our products and services correlate more closely than ever before to the quality of our human capital."
Contact N. "Venkat" Venkatraman, 617-353-7117, venkat@bu.edu
The Boston University Women’s Studies program is hosting an event entitled “Well-behaved Women Rarely Make History” today at 3 PM in the Women’s Resource Center, 775 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Pulizter Prize Winning Author and Professor of History at Harvard University, will discuss her 2007 book. EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
