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Pardo Participates in Philip Glass Institute’s Composing a Creative Life Series

Assistant Professor of Modern Dance Matt Pardo, M.F.A., participated in a panel at the recently opened Philip Glass Institute at the New School in New York City alongside Caitlin Scranton, who co-directs The Blanket with Pardo, and the seminal choreographer Lucinda Childs. The panel was led by Lisa Bielawa, an Emmy Award-winning composer, who also happens to be the lead singer for the Philip Glass Ensemble. The panel explored how artists can compose their own creative lives. Freshman acting major Diego Murillo traveled to the event in New York City to meet Childs and experience the discussion for himself. Visit events.newschool.edu/event/philip_glass_institute_composing_a_creative_life_lecture_series to learn more about the event.

Shenandoah University’s Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business will hold a panel discussion on Morality and Capitalism at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 5, in Halpin-Harrison Hall, Stimpson Auditorium (1460 University Drive, Winchester, VA 22601).

A question and answer session will follow. The event is free and open to the public, and is part of the school of business’s ongoing Distinguished Lecture Series. Light refreshments will be provided during a pre-event reception at 5:30 p.m.

“We find ourselves in a time where people are not just concerned with where their money is invested, but also where it is spent,” said Dean of the Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business Miles Davis, Ph.D. “The idea that financial matters have a moral component is a challenge to the traditional idea that products and services in a capitalist society are amoral and that profitability is the overarching goal of an organization. We are excited to have with us a panel who can address the issues of morality and capitalism from a scholarly and practitioner perspective.”

Dr. Davis is set to facilitate the panel, which includes Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Management Group, Inc. M. Yaqub Mirza, Ph.D.; Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business Eldon R. Lindsey Chair of Free Enterprise and Professor of Economics and Finance Clifford Thies, Ph.D.; and Christian financial counselor and author Gary Moore.

As founder, president and chief executive officer of Sterling Management Group, Inc., Dr. Mirza negotiates mergers, acquisitions, and sales of various-sized companies located in different parts of the world. Sterling and its affiliates operate in the United States, Canada, Chile, Egypt, Malaysia, Turkey, and Zimbabwe. In addition, Mirza has more than thirty years of experience in stock investments and portfolio management.

He is the founding trustee and chairman of the board of trustees of Amana Mutual Funds, which is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He also serves on the boards of numerous other organizations, including several for-profit and not-for-profit, as well as academic institutions.

Mirza is a member of the Shenandoah University board of trustees, and in that capacity, serves on both the finance committee and the investment and endowment committee. He also serves on the board of advisors for the Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business. Mirza is a George Mason University Foundation trustee and a member of the board of advisors for George Mason University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences in Fairfax, Virginia.

He holds a M.Sc. from the University of Karachi (1969), as well as a Ph.D. in physics (1974) and an M.A. in teaching science (1975) from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Dr. Thies is the author, co-author, contributor or editor of 105 books, encyclopedia articles and articles in scholarly journals; most recently, “The Chicago Record Poll and the Election of 1896,” which is forthcoming in Presidential Studies Quarterly. He is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Private Enterprise and was a Bradley Resident Scholar at the Heritage Foundation.

Thies is past president of the faculty senates of Shenandoah University and the University of Baltimore, and previously served on the faculties of the University of Baltimore and the University of Montana. He served in the U.S. Army and the Army Reserve. Thies was awarded a Ph.D. in economics from Boston College in 1982.

Mr. Moore recently retired after more than four decades on Wall Street. He is the author of five books, including “Faithful Finances 101” and “Spiritual Investments.” His books discuss the integration of faith and finance, predominantly focusing on socially responsible business and investing. Moore is the founder of The Financial Seminary, a nonprofit ministry, to build bridges between the financial and moral communities. He also founded his own investment firm, Gary Moore & Company, as “counsel to ethical and spiritual investors.”

Moore has served as a trustee of Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral, chairing the church’s endowment committee; as a trustee on the investment committee of Messiah College; as a board member of the John Templeton Foundation; as a board advisor to Bill Bennett and Jack Kemp in Empower America; as a lay leader of both Lutheran and the Episcopal churches; as a financial commentator for UPI Radio and Skylight Radio Network; and as a board member for Opportunity International, a micro-enterprise organization making $200 loans to the entrepreneurial poor in the Third World. Moore holds a degree in political science from the University of Kentucky.

For more information about this event, contact Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business Administrative Assistant Kerri Mariano at 540/665-4572 or kmariano@su.edu.

Maurice Jones, secretary of commerce and trade for the State of Virginia, will speak at Shenandoah University’s Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 18, in Halpin-Harrison Hall, Stimpson Auditorium on the campus of Shenandoah University. The event is free and open to the public. Jones’ presentation is part of the business school’s Entrepreneurship Week, which runs from Monday, Nov. 17, through Sunday, Nov. 23.

“As the person who oversees economic development across the Commonwealth of Virginia, it was a no brainer for us to extend an invitation to Maurice Jones to headline our Entrepreneurship Week and serve as part of our Distinguished Lecture Series,” said Dean of the Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business Miles Davis, Ph.D. “Entrepreneurial behavior is the economic engine of our economy, and the entrepreneurship program at the Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business is honored to sponsor this discussion about economic development and growth.”

According to his biography on the State of Virginia website, Maurice Jones was appointed secretary of commerce and trade by Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe in January 2014. Previously, Jones served as deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) from April 2012 through January 2014. As the second most senior official at HUD, Jones managed the department’s day-to-day operations, the annual operating budget, and the agency’s 8,900 employees.

Prior to HUD, Jones was president of Pilot Media, the largest print and digital organization in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Jones joined Landmark Media Enterprises, owner of Pilot Media, in 2005, serving as vice president of the Landmark Publishing Group, consisting of multiple newspapers, including the News & Record in Greensboro, North Carolina; The Roanoke Times; The Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland; and Landmark Community Newspapers, Inc., based in Shelbyville, Kentucky. In 2006, Jones became the vice president and general manager of Pilot Media, and in 2008 he became president and publisher of The Virginian-Pilot, the locally owned and managed newspaper founded in 1865.

A Kenbridge, Virginia, native, Jones also served as commissioner of the Virginia Department of Social Services and deputy chief of staff to then-Virginia Governor Mark Warner. At the U.S. Treasury Department, Jones was special assistant to the General Counsel and he also served as legal counsel to the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund and as director of the fund during the Clinton Administration. Jones also worked for the law firm of Hunton & Williams in Richmond, Virginia, and he was a partner at Venture Philanthropy Partners, a firm that invests millions in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area to assist low-income children.

Jones received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Hampden-Sydney College in Farmville, Virginia, and attended Oxford University in England on a Rhodes scholarship, where he received a Master of Philosophy in International Relations. He later received a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia.

A 5 p.m. reception precedes the 5:30 p.m. presentation. The event is hosted by The Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business Distinguished Lecture Series. For more information, contact Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business Administrative Assistant Donna Fazio at 540/665-4572 or dfazio@su.edu.

Ronald Kaplan, chief executive officer of Trex Company, the world’s largest manufacturer of wood-alternative decking products, will present “Leadership: Lessons Learned the Hard Way” at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 20, in Halpin-Harrison Hall, Stimpson Auditorium on the campus of Shenandoah University. The event is free and open to the public.

Kaplan’s presentation is based on several decades managing businesses around the world. Through a combination of personal anecdotes, video clips and hard analysis, he will share his observations about what it takes to get ahead in today’s corporate environment. This motivational presentation will educate attendees to discover and overcome leadership difficulties in the business world.

“Ronald Kaplan, has more than 35 years of C-suite experience and is well qualified to discuss with our students, alumni and the greater community what it takes to succeed in business,” said Dean of the Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business Miles Davis, Ph.D. “We are honored to have him as part of our Distinguished Lecture Series.”

Prior to joining Trex, Kaplan served as chief executive officer of Continental Global Group, Inc., a manufacturer of mining equipment. He also spent 26 years in senior positions with Harsco Corporation, an international industrial services and products company, where he oversaw the development and construction of several plants around the world and successfully closed and integrated several acquisitions.

Kaplan has served as a director, president and chief executive officer of Trex Company since January 2008. He became Chairman of the Board in May 2010. Kaplan’s ability 
to effectively lead, drive, and sustain company-wide improvements and drive value for shareholders has earned him industry-wide acclaim, numerous awards and a spot on ExecRank’s prestigious list of the country’s “Top Small Cap CEOs.” Kaplan is ranked #14 out of 18,000 small-cap CEOs in the United States.

This event is hosted by The Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business Distinguished Lecture Series. For more information, contact Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business Administrative Assistant Donna Fazio at 540/665-4572 or dfazio@su.edu.