Spring 2007

$1 Million BB&T Gift Promotes Study of the Philosophy of Free Market Economies

Students from diverse disciplines will gain a better understanding of the foundations of the U.S. economic system thanks to a $1 million gift from the BB&T Charitable Foundation to the Bryan School.

The gift establishes the BB&T Program in Capitalism, Markets and Morality. The program will offer undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to examine the ethical and philosophical basis for free market economies.

“Unfortunately, we find that many students who graduate with business degrees while understanding the ‘technology’ of business, do not have a clear grasp of the moral principles underlying free markets,” said John Allison IV, chairman and executive officer of BB&T Corporation.

The gift will support an undergraduate course addressing “markets and morality” as part of a campus-wide offering in the Lloyd International Honors College. Students from all disciplines are encouraged to enroll in the course. A graduate-level course will also be developed.

“This program matches our shared interests in giving students a fair and balanced perspective on capitalism and free markets and in giving students across the UNCG campus a better understanding of our economy and greater ability to make meaningful contributions to our world,” said Dr. James K. Weeks, dean of the Bryan School.

Funding from the program will be used to expand the offerings of the undergraduate courses and to provide faculty members with curriculum-development grants for courses that advance students’ understanding of the moral foundations of capitalism. The gift will support one doctoral fellow in economics each year.

In addition, the BB&T Distinguished Lecture Series in Capitalism will begin this spring. The series will focus on ethical and core values in business. Dr. Bruce Caldwell, Joe Rosenthal Excellence Professor in Economics, will be among the presenters. Caldwell is the editor of “The Collected Works of F.A. Hayek,” one of the most influential free market economists of the 20th century.