Presbyterian College Welcomes Leading Economist as Part of New BB&T Program for the Study of Capitalism

September 15, 2009

CLINTON, SC – Septmber 15, 2009 – Economist and historian Robert Higgs will speak at Presbyterian College this month as part of the college’s new BB&T Program on the Study of Capitalism.

The senior fellow in political economy for the Independent Institute, Higgs will lecture at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, at PC’s Edmunds Hall.

Also the editor of the institute’s quarterly journal, The Independent Review, Higgs earned his Ph.D. in economics from Johns Hopkins University and has taught at the University of Washington, Lafayette College, Seattle University, and the University of Economics in Prague in the Czech Republic. He has been a visiting scholar at Oxford and Stanford universities and a fellow for the Hoover Institution and the National Science Foundation.

He is the author of Depression, War, and Cold War, Neither Liberty Nor Safety, Resurgence of the Warfare State, Against Leviathan, The Transformation of the American Economy 1865-1914, Competition and Coercion, and Crisis and Leviathan.

He is the author of more than 100 articles and reviews in academic journals; his popular articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Tribune. Higgs also has appeared on National Public Radio, NBC, ABC, C-Span, CNBC, Radio America Network, Talk Radio Network, and a variety of local radio and television stations.

Higgs’ work has earned him numerous awards, including the Gary Schlarbaum Award for Lifetime Defense of Liberty, the Thomas Szasz Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Cause of Civil Liberties, the Lysander Spooner Award for Advancing the Literature of Liberty, the Friedrich von Wieser Memorial Prize for Excellence in Economic Education, and the Templeton Honor Rolls Award on Education in a Free Society.

PC’s BB&T Program for the Study of Capitalism is made possible by a $500,000 grant from the BB&T Foundation. The program will emphasize both the moral and ethical foundations of capitalism, as well as the practical functioning of a capitalist economy. Awarded over a ten-year period, the grant will be used by PC to design and implement a team-taught course – “Capitalism and its Foundation and Functions” – open to all students, as well as funding for faculty research, guest lecturers, and competitive stipends for student internships.

Presbyterian College is a liberal arts institution in Clinton, S.C., that offers a whole-person education to inquisitive students interested in lives that balance challenging academics, social engagement, and service. Small class sizes allow students to develop close relationships with faculty and peers. Honor and ethics are part of the College culture, guiding students to become values-based leaders in their lives and careers.

In 2010, the college will open its new School of Pharmacy to approximately 80 incoming post-graduate students.

For more information about Presbyterian College, go to www.presby.edu.