N.Y. State Attorney General Will Talk on Corporate Responsibility

Eliot Spitzer, the New York State attorney general, will visit the College on Thursday, October 10, to give a talk, "Corporate Responsibility and the Public Interest." His presentation will start at 12:05 p.m. in Textor 102 and is free and open to the public.

Sponsored by the School of Business, the event is the first in a series of talks being offered this year on the theme of corporate responsibility.

"With the public trust in business institutions increasingly in question, it's important for future business leaders to think about the responsibilities of organizations that extend beyond making profits," says Scott Erickson, associate professor of business administration. "Corporate responsibility generally extends beyond just following the law, something the series will hopefully demonstrate."

Spitzer, a Democrat, was elected New York's attorney general in 1998. Since that time he has advanced initiatives in environmental protection, public safety, civil rights, and consumer affairs. He became well known recently for pressing a case against major Wall Street firms, especially Merrill Lynch. Spitzer's prosecution focused on research analysts who misled investors into buying risky stocks of companies Merrill Lynch was seeking as clients. His actions ultimately forced the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to start its own investigation, adding to the several that were already under way in Congress.

From 1986 to 1992, Spitzer was an assistant district attorney in Manhattan, rising to become chief of its labor racketeering unit, where he prosecuted organized crime and political corruption cases. Previously he worked at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom, where he defended accused white-collar criminals.

Future speakers in the series will include Anke Wessels, executive director of the Center for Religion, Ethics, and Social Policy at Cornell University, and Ron Blackwell, corporate affairs director for the AFL-CIO in Washington, D.C.

For more information on the series and Eliot Spitzer's visit, contact Scott Erickson at 274-1235.