Alfred Gourdji Distinguished Lecture Series: Winter/ Spring 2025   

*NEW DATE*

Today’s business schools were designed for a world that no longer exists. Capitalism raised the standard of living for billions of people over the past 150 years, but is now facing systemic challenges, which it is both causing and unable to address: Most notably, climate change and inequality. And yet, business schools continue to teach ideas that are making these problems worse. Business schools cannot simply drop an elective into their curriculum to address these challenges. We must rethink their foundations.

Andrew J. Hoffman is the Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise, jointly appointed in UM’s Ross Business School, and School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS). His research uses organizational behavior theories to understand the cultural and institutional aspects of environmental issues. He has published over 100 articles/book chapters, and 18 books, which have been translated into six languages. His latest book, Business School and the Noble Purpose of the Market, will be published in May by Stanford University Press. Prof. Hoffman has received many awards for his research and teaching. His work has been covered in the New York Times, Scientific American, Time, Wall Street Journal, National Geographic, and NPR.

This lecture will also be live streamed through Zoom.

Governments have always struggled to tax in ways that are effective and tolerably fair. In this talk, Prof. Slemrod will provide a fun tour through preposterous and dramatic historical tax episodes, drawing lessons for today’s contentious tax debates. He will argue that yesterday’s tax systems have more in common with ours than we may think. Georgian England’s window tax now seems quaint but was an ingenious way of judging wealth unobtrusively. And Tsar Peter the Great’s tax on beards aimed to induce the nobility to shave, much like today’s carbon taxes aim to slow global warming.

Joel Slemrod is the Paul McCracken Collegiate Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy at UM’s Ross Business School, and David Bradford Distinguished University Professor in UM’s Economics Department. He’s also Director of Ross’ Office of Tax Policy Research. Prof. Slemrod studies and writes about tax policy. He served as Senior Staff Economist in the President’s Council of Economic Advisers and was a consultant to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and other government agencies. Prof. Slemrod has received many awards for his research and teaching. His talk will be based on his new book, Rebellion, Rascals, and Revenue: Tax Follies and Wisdom through the Ages, published by Princeton University Press.

This lecture will also be live streamed through Zoom.

This lecture will explore whether Western reactions to the Gaza and Ukraine conflicts, along with the rise of the so-called BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the UAE), signal a turning point in the preeminence of Western nations and the economic and political systems they have created and commandeered since World War II.

Saeed Khan is Associate Professor of Near East & Asian Studies and Global Studies at Wayne State University, where he is also Director of the Center for the Study of Citizenship. He is Co-founder and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding in Washington, DC. He specializes in Middle Eastern and Islamic history, politics and culture, and global issues. For several years, Prof. Khan and Howard Lupovitch, Professor of History at Wayne State, have collaborated on talks and media interviews about the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. Prof. Kahn’s latest books include Global Studies: A Reader on Issues and Institutions and What’s Going On Here? US Experiences of Islamophobia Between Obama and Trump.

This lecture will also be live streamed through Zoom.

This talk—based on Prof. Kross’ recently published book—addresses the timeless question of how to manage our emotional lives. Whether it’s anxiety about going to the doctor, boiling rage when we’re stuck in traffic, or devastation after a painful break-up, we often face situations that send us emotionally spiraling. Are there ways to make our emotions work for us rather than against us? Based on recent research findings, this talk will dispel some common myths—e.g., that avoidance is always toxic or that we should always strive to live in the moment—and provide a framework and tools for shifting our emotions to help us be healthier and happier.

Ethan Kross, Ph.D., is a Professor in UM’s Psychology Department and Ross Business School. He is the director of the Emotion & Self-Control Lab. His research examines how people can control their thoughts, feelings and behaviors to improve their lives, focusing on adult, child and clinical populations. His approach draws on multiple disciplines within psychology including social, personality, clinical, developmental, and neuroscience. Prof. Kross has authored numerous books, book chapters, and articles. His research has been reported in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New Yorker, Forbes, Time, and The Atlantic.

This lecture will also be live streamed through Zoom.

The Alfred Gourdji Distinguished Lecture Series features prominent, engaging speakers from “town and gown.” It consists of eight lectures, four in the fall session and four in the winter/ spring session. Learn from well-known experts about an array of fascinating topics. Each lecture is just the beginning; a stimulating question-and-answer period follows each session.

The Alfred Gourdji Distinguished Lecture Series was planned by Bernard Banet, Ron Bogdasarian, Ron Frisch, Beverley Geltner, Frances Schultz, Leo Shedden, and Katherine Woo, and co-chairs Gerald Gardner and Marie Vitale.

All programs will take place at: Washtenaw Community College Morris Lawrence Building Towsley Auditorium (or nearby meeting rooms) 4800 E Huron River Dr. Ann Arbor, MI 48105

All lectures will also be live streamed through Zoom.