2007 Speakers
- Mark Russell
- James McPherson
- History and Future of the American Penny
- Joshua Wolf Shenk
- Gore Vidal
- Sarah Vowell
In recognition of the opening of Lincoln Hall, West Virginia University’s new residential college, the 2007 Festival
of Ideas series will focus on America’s 16th president, Abraham Lincoln—the man, the myth, the martyr and American hero.
Throughout an eight-week period from February to April, a wide array of experts will come to WVU to discuss why Lincoln
matters and examine Lincoln as a politician, historical figure, leader and cultural icon.
HISTORY AND FUTURE OF THE AMERICAN PENNY
A Panel Discussion
March 1 at 7:30pm · Mountainlair Ballroom
Dr. Stephen R. Sears
Dr. Russell S. Sobel
Mark Weller
Dr. Robert Whaples
Moderator:
Dr. Stephen R. Sears
Before becoming dean at WVU in 2005, Dr. Sears was senior executive associate dean of Rawls College of Business Administration at Texas Tech University, where he taught at Texas Tech's business school as the Lubbock Bankers' Association Professor of Finance. After serving as the interim dean during the spring and summer of 2001, he was appointed as the senior executive associate dean and maintained this position until the summer of 2003. Prior to his deanship at Texas Tech, he was the department chair of the Area of Finance and the professor and director of the Institute for Banking and Financial Studies. At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he held professor and lecturer positions. He has made more than 30 presentations of research papers and acted as a chair or discussant for numerous sessions at regional, national, and international conferences.
Panelists
Dr. Russell S. Sobel
Dr. Russell S. Sobel is Professor of Economics and holder of the James Clark Coffman Distinguished Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies at West Virginia University. He has published over 75 books and articles on economic policy, including a nationally best-selling college-level Principles of Economics textbook. Dr. Sobel was the founding director of the West Virginia University Entrepreneurship Center, where he established the state’s first collegiate business plan competition, helped in the formation of WVU’s Business Incubator, and created a minor in entrepreneurship for WVU students. He received his PhD in economics from Florida State University, and has been at West Virginia University since 1994.
Mark Weller
Mark Weller is executive director of Americans for Common Cents, a nonprofit organization that was founded in the 1990s when moves to abolish the penny were launched. His organization's goal is to keep Congress and the public updated on news and information about the penny. Weller says that polls conducted by ABC News, USA Today/Gallup, and Coinstar all show that the majority of Americans want to keep the penny around.
Dr. Robert Whaples
Dr. Robert Whaples graduated from the University of Maryland in 1983 with a BA in economics and a BA in history, and earned a PhD in economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1990. His dissertation, “The Shortening of the American Work Week: An Economic and Historical Analysis,” won the Allen Nevins Prize from the Economic History Association. He is currently a professor of economics at Wake Forest University where he chairs their Department of Economics. He also coaches the Wake Forest quizbowl team. Dr. Whaples is coauthor of the Study Guide to Jeffrey Perloff's Microeconomics. His most recent paper argues that the US Mint should stop producing pennies.