Dr. Stephen Hicks, CEE’s Executive Director, talks with Phyllis Johnson about entrepreneurship, coffee, and empowering women in Africa.
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For more information about the organizations Ms. Johnson works with, go to:
Dr. Stephen Hicks, CEE’s executive director, talks with guest speaker Alexei Marcoux about moral partiality in business practice.
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Part II:
The Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship welcomes Phyllis Johnson to Rockford College this Thursday, October 6, from 11 am to 12:15 pm, in Scarborough 208. Ms. Johnson will give a talk entitled “Making a Living While Making a Difference.”
Phyllis Johnson is co-founder and president of the Rockford-based BD Imports, a supplier of exceptional quality specialty grade coffees and owner of Evolution Coffee. The company imports un-roasted coffee from sustainable sources in coffee producing countries and markets to roaster retailers and wholesalers located in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Taiwan. BD Imports has helped to propel Phyllis as a champion of women and women in coffee.
All members of the campus community are welcome to attend.
The Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship welcomes Dr. Alexei Marcoux to Rockford College this Thursday, September 29, from 11 am to 12:15 pm, in Scarborough 208. Dr. Marcoux will give a talk on moral partiality in business practice.
Alexei Marcoux is Associate Professor of Business Ethics in the School of Business Administration at Loyola University Chicago, Senior Research Fellow in the Center for Spiritual Capital at Loyola University New Orleans, and Policy Advisor to the Heartland Institute. His research and teaching in business ethics focus on the moral contours of commercial transactions and the role of partiality in ethical business practice.
All members of the campus community are welcome to attend.
Francesco Clark is founder and CEO of Clark’s Botanicals, based in Bronxville, New York. At age 24, he became paralyzed from the neck down after a swimming pool accident. Some physicians thought he would never move or breathe without assistance again. But with great effort over several years, Mr. Clark made strong progress and, given his physical-therapy experiences, developed an award-winning line of skin-care products that became Clark’s Botanicals, now sold in Europe, Asia, and the United States. We met with Mr. Clark in New York to discuss coming back from tragedy, what it takes to fight against overwhelming odds, and entrepreneurship as an option for people with disabilities and special challenges.
Kaizen: Where did you grow up?
Clark: I grew up in Italy — in Bologna — for seven years and then we moved to New York. Since sixth grade, I grew up just outside of New York City in Westchester.
Kaizen: When you were a teenager, what were you thinking your likely career would be?
Clark: My original career path was to be become a diplomat. So I went to Baltimore and studied at Johns Hopkins. I double majored in International Relations and Romance Languages. I liked that because it gave me kind of a wide funnel, a wide array of options to go into. I took the Foreign Service Exam and I passed, and it gave me the option in going into that aspect, or business, or law. But in reality, I didn’t really know what I wanted; I was just curious. I love learning and I’m still just as curious as I was before about that. And then I just kind of started working after I graduated.
Dr. Stephen Hicks, CEE’s executive director, talks with guest speaker Douglas Den Uyl about the essence of capitalism.
In our latest issue of Kaizen we feature an interview with Francesco Clark, founder and CEO of Clark’s Botanicals. At age 24, he became paralyzed from the neck down after a swimming pool accident. Some physicians thought he would never move or breathe without assistance again. But with great effort over several years, Mr. Clark made strong progress and, given his physical-therapy experiences, developed an award-winning line of skin-care products that became Clark’s Botanicals, now sold in Europe, Asia, and the United States.
Also featured in Kaizen are: student essay contest winners Nicole Schnack, Jake Maliszewski, and William Newkirk; High School Entrepreneur Day, Professor Jules Gleicher’s new course, and guest speaker Dr. Al Gini.
A PDF version of Kaizen is available here. We will soon post separately the full interview with Mr.Francesco Clark.
If you would like to receive a complimentary issue of the print version of Kaizen, please email your name and postal address to CEE [at] Rockford.edu.
This year’s Global Entrepreneurship Week will take place from November 14 – 20. Last year, over 400,000 Americans participated in all 50 states. GEW promotes innovation, creativity, job creation, and economic growth through a variety of activities, which include: a competition to find the 50 most promising startups worldwide; a clean technology competition; a competition to win a free yearlong trip around the world; and Startup Weekend, a networking event focused on creating new startups.
Chief Executive surveyed 550 CEOs, asking them to rank each state in the U.S. based on taxation and regulations, workforce quality, and living environment.
Rockford College students can see the new Atlas Shrugged movie on Saturday, May 7 at 7:15 PM for free, courtesy of the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship. We are only covering the tickets, not concessions or transportation.
The film is playing at Wildwood Theaters in Janesville, Wisconsin.
Please arrive by 7:00. Look for Professor Stephen Hicks or Professor Shawn Klein.
Click here to see the theater’s location and to get directions.
