This fall marks the tenth anniversary of the 2008 financial crisis, a milestone which sparked an inaugural series of discussions at Dartmouth Tuck all about rising economic inequality: the Inequality Speaker Series.
Led by Class of 2019 MBA Fellows in the Center for Business, Government & Society, the series explored a range of topics and issues related to rising economic inequality after the financial collapse. It engaged the broader Tuck community within the discussions to talk about lessons learned over the past decade, the risk of repeating history, and more.
Inside the Inequality Speaker Series
In the end, more than 150 Tuck students showed up at each event, participating in informative sessions hosted by industry leaders, including: Professor Emily Blanchard, Montgomery Fellow Jake Sullivan, Professor David Blanchflower, and Peter Raskind (D’78, T’79).
The series kicked off with an introduction by Dean Matthew Slaughter. He shared research related to economic inequality and provided insight into broader trends. His initial discussion was responsible for deep reflection and conversations across campus, and all future speakers tackled the same topic from different angles. Overall, a variety of experts, including Tuck faculty such as Curt Welling, Nan Stone, and Peter Fisher, provided their expertise on the topic.
Author’s Visit Inspires
One event, in particular, stood out during the series, which was when Amy Goldstein, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter and author of Janesville: An American Story, visited students. Her visit quickly transformed into a table on campus where the Adam Smith Society distributed copies of Janesville to raise funds for the Upper Valley Haven, a local nonprofit. And from there, a book club began in which students could dive deeper into the topic.
“The entire experience was a win-win situation,” said MBA Fellow Joanna Gawlik (T’19). “By giving back to the local community with the donations we raised from the book, we were able to directly channel the theme of economic inequality into something positive that would help solve some of the issues we had been learning about.”
The Tuck speaker series will continue next year with a new topic and discussions, but the same great passion amongst the Tuck community. Read more here.
