Written by Aerial Whitiing
Steve Forbes, editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine, chairman and CEO of Forbes Media, and former Republican presidential candidate, will speak Thursday, April 7, at 7:30 p.m. in the Benson Auditorium, concluding this year’s American Studies Institute’s Distinguished Lecture Series.Following Forbes’ speech, he will be signing copies of his book “How Capitalism Will Save Us.”Dr. Bob Reely, associate executive director of the American Studies Institute, said Forbes is a friend to Harding; this will be Forbes’ third visit to the school. He spoke once in 1994 and again in 2008.Reely said Forbes was invited as part of this school year’s ASI series for two reasons: first, because the current economy continues to be the No. 1 concern for many people and the 2012 election will have economic implications for the future, and second, because when Forbes has visited in the past, he has had a knack for explaining financial concepts simply.”There couldn’t be anyone better than Steve Forbes to come in and talk about the economy,” Reely said.Junior business major Daniel Burnett said he looks forward to listening to such a prominent business figure at Harding.”This is absolutely … the ASI speaker that I would love to hear; it’s really exciting,” Burnett said. “He’s kind of like the celebrity, the superstar of business in a lot of ways.”Forbes’ speech will be beneficial not just to business majors but to all Harding students, Reely said.In light of the national debt, which has climbed to $14.1 trillion, Reely said he wants students to think about what the economy means for them.”As a 20-year-old, generally the reaction I’ve gotten is ‘I don’t want to think about the national debt,'” Reely said. “They’ve got a date Friday night, they’ve got to study for tests, and somehow the national debt is going to work itself out, and then they wonder why they can’t get a job. … I think [ASI should] try to get the students to stop long enough to think a little bit about it with the best we can bring in.”A businessman and philanthropist, Forbes is a “great role model” to have speak at the university, Reely said.Senior Janet Orgain, vice president of ASI, said she is very excited about Forbes coming to Harding.”He’s such a prominent economist on Wall Street, so it’s going to be really exciting to hear what he has to say about his success,” Orgain said. “It’s going to be another great speech, another great opportunity for Harding students to come out and learn from people who have been out in the real world.”
