[dropcap sid=”dropcap-1446585320″]E[/dropcap]arlier this year, the College welcomed influencers from the worlds of business, government, nonprofits, and the media, whose participation in a variety of forums greatly enriched students’ Baruch experience.
On March 15, the College held the third in its annual series of multicultural evenings exploring international economies. “India: Start-up Nation or Mature Economy?” welcomed Ambassador Riva Ganguly Das (right), consul general of India in New York, whose introductory remarks highlighted key facts about her country’s culture, politics, and demographics. Her assertion that “India is not amenable to easy conclusions” set the stage for the panel discussion that followed. Moderated by Guarav Verma (MBA ’03), executive vice president, U.S. India Business Council, the panel debated and reached common ground on key aspects of conducting business in the world’s largest democracy. Immense opportunity is the unassailable plus; business execution, the greatest challenge. As Raj Tripathi, national leader, India Business Group, Grant Thornton, remarked, “India looks like a great investment opportunity when you are sitting in your living room in New Jersey and is a lot less attractive on the ground.”
During his March 2 visit to Baruch, former Secretary of the Treasury Jacob J. Lew took a clear stance on a wide range of timely and controversial topics, including globalization, the national deficit, immigration, and the increasing role of technology in the workplace. For him, “The key to future success is not separating countries in a way that will reduce overall global growth. The real solutions lie in innovation and a skilled workforce, which requires investments in education, research, and infrastructure.” Mr. Lew has also served as White House chief of staff and director of the Office of Management and Budget.
How often does a newspaper correct its mistakes? That’s one of the ways that Craig Newmark judges its integrity. At “The Internet’s Challenges to Ethical Journalism” on February 15, the web pioneer, Craigslist founder, and philanthropist shared the stage with Bloomberg Professor Andrea Gabor and Adjunct Assistant Professor Michael Bobelian, JD, both of the Department of Journalism and the Writing Professions. The trio explored ethical journalism, a subject about which Mr. Newmark is passionate. Throughout the discussion, Newmark returned to his core position: Journalism needs to be a fact-based enterprise. “We need to restore that traditional journalism ethic,” he stated.