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Institute for Development Strategies
IU

Bonser Distinguished Lecture Series

Enhancing knowledge of economic issues and stimulating discussion of public policy

The Bonser Distinguished Lecture Series attracts prominent and influential leaders in academia, business, and politics to the Kelley School of Business and the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs to speak about the interactions between public policy and business. Discussions with prominent speakers enhance students’ and faculty members’ knowledge of economic issues and stimulates discussion of public policy. The lecture series is co-administered each year by the Department of Business Economics and Public Policy (Kelley) and the Institute for Development Strategies (O'Neill).

Man in academic regalia speaking at a microphone.
Charles F. Bonser speaking at graduation in 1985.

2024 Bonser Distinguished Lecturer: Woody Powell

Friday, September 20
11:30 AM to 1:00 PM
O’Neill Room 167

"Civic Life Reexamined: How Do Organizational Practices Influence Participation?" 

Woody Powell is Jacks Family Professor of Education, and (by courtesy) Sociology, Organizational Behavior, Management Science and Engineering, and Communication at Stanford University. He has been faculty co-director of the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society since its founding in 2006, and currently shares the Marc and Laura Andreessen Co-Directorship with Rob Reich and Robb Willer. At PACS, he heads the Civic Life of Cities Lab, which studies civil society organizations in the SF Bay Area, Seattle, Shenzhen, Sydney, Taipei, and Vienna. He is the 2019 recipient of the School of Humanities and Sciences Dean's Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching. He has received honorary degrees from Uppsala University, Copenhagen Business School, and Aalto University, and is an international member of the Swedish Royal Academy of Science and The British Academy. He has served on the board of directors of the Social Science Research Council since 2000. He was an external faculty member of the Santa Fe Institute from 2001-13 and continues involvement with SFI today. With Bob Gibbons (MIT), he has led the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) summer institute on Organizations and their Effectiveness since 2016.

The Bonser Distinguished Lecture Series honors Charles F. Bonser, Founding Dean of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. The initial endowment fund for the series was provided by Bonser. This funding, combined with additional contributions, ensures the continuation of educational opportunities and attracts corporate executives, government leaders, and leading academics to the Bloomington campus.

Charles "Chuck" Bonser first joined Indiana University in 1960 as assistant director of the Business School's Bureau of Business and Economic Research. During his 37-year career with IU, he held several important positions in both the School of Business and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. These included professor and associate dean of the School of Business (1969-71) and professor and founding dean of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (1971-1988). Upon leaving the deanship of SPEA, he was appointed to the Ameritech Endowed Chair in Economic Development and director of the Institute for Development Strategies. He retired from active faculty service in 1997.

With profound sadness, we share that Dean Emeritus Charles "Chuck" Bonser passed away on August 14, 2024.

Read more about his life and legacy

2023, April 27
The Economics of Collusion: Cartels and Bidding Rings
Leslie Marx, Robert A. Bandeen Professor of Economics, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University

2019, April 1
Smart Cities of The Future - Where Public and Private Collaboration Can Save Our Planet
Jesse Devitte, Cofounder and General Partner, Building Ventures

2018, April 23
Building and Improving Trust in Online Markets
Steve Tadelis, Professor, Haas School of Business-Berkeley

2017, April 28
Crisis Federalism: Is our Intergovernmental System Ready for the Next Recession?
Tracy Gordon, Senior Fellow, Urban Institute-Brookings Tax Policy Center

2015, April 17
An Insider’s View of the Affordable Care Act
Sherry Glied, Dean of New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service

2014, March 25
Trial by Error or Trial by Fire?
Michael C. Burda, Professor of economics, Humboldt University of Berlin

2013, April 16
Entrepreneurship as a Cure for Europe's Growth Woes?
Simon Parker, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship - Richard Ivy School of Business

2011, October 11
The design, function, purpose, operation and issues of a large, corporate-model, nonprofit company
Kevan P. Lawlor, President and Chief Executive Officer of NSF International

2010, March 25-26
The Evolution of Modern Diplomacy
Sir Ivor Roberts, President of Trinity College at the University of Oxford

2008, October 13-14
Does U.S. Climate Policy Really Matter?
Stephen H. Schneider, Professor of Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies - Stanford University

2006, April 7-8
Perspectives on Monetary, Financial, and Economic Integration (Conference)
Presentations by: Haizhou Huang (Barlays Capital), George Tavlas, (Bank of Greece), Clemens Kool (University of Utrecht), Franco Spinelli and Carmine Trecroci (University of Brescia), Heejoon Kang (Indiana University), George von Furstenberg (Indiana University), Patrick Minford (Carthiff Business School), Thomas Willett (Claremont McKenna Graduate University), John Pattison (Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce), John Kirton (University of Toronto), Paul de Grauwe (University of Leuven), Juergen von Hagen (University of Bonn), and Paolo Savona (Luiss Guido Carli University of Rome)

2005, April 1
Regional Integration and Security (Conference)
Presentations by: Alan V. Deardorff (University of Michigan), Michele Fratianni (Indiana University, Kelley School of Business), Herbert Grubel (Simon Fraser University), Quan Li (Pennsylvania State University), and Brian McFillen (Indiana University, Department of Political Science). Discussants were Indiana University faculty: George von Furstenberg (Economics), Jeff Hart (Political Science), Alan Rugman (Kelley School of Business), and Michael McGinnis (Political Science).

2004, April 22
Reflections on Iraq
Admiral William Crowe, Former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff & Former US Ambassador to Great Britain

2003, March 27
Famous Fables of Economics: Myths of Market Failures
Daniel Spulber, Director of International Business, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

2002, April 18
Challenging the Corporation: How Activists Influence Corporate Policy
David Baron, professor of political economy and strategy at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business

2000, October 10
Welfare, Children and Families: The Impact of Welfare Reform in the New Economy
William Julius Wilson, Director of the Joblessness and Urban Poverty Research Program at Harvard University

1999, October 21
Innovation Investment Chains: The Public Policy Interface
Jack Harding, President and CEO of eSilicon (current), Cadence Design Systems (former)

1999, February 18
Critical Review of Clinton Foreign Policy
Senator Richard Lugar

Public policy is at the center of both public and private sector concerns. Any efforts to improve the human condition depend on successful collaboration between the two sectors.

Charles F. Bonser, SPEA Founding Dean