Provost's Lecturer Program: Jeffrey Sachs

April 4, 2014

Provost's Discovery Themes Lecturer Series

Jeffrey Sachs

Conversations on Morality, Politics, and Society

We have entered a new phase of history, in which the intertwined challenges of economic development, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability must be addressed holistically, or else the world will find itself at dire risk of social instability and environmental calamity. The path ahead is a narrow one, fraught with difficulties and uncertainties, yet the promise of a better life for billions of people is also realistic. With proper policies, moral framework, and global cooperation, ours can be the generation that ends extreme poverty, stabilizes the world's population, and ushers a new era of sustainable growth.

About Jeffrey

Jeffrey D. Sachs is the Director of The Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the Millennium Development Goals, having held the same position under former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He is Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. He is co-founder and Chief Strategist of Millennium Promise Alliance, and is director of the Millennium Villages Project. Sachs is also one of the Secretary-General's MDG Advocates, and a Commissioner of the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Development. He has authored three New York Times bestsellers in the past seven years: The End of Poverty (2005), Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet (2008), and The Price of Civilization (2011).

Following the address, there was a panel discussion followed by an opportuniy for questions from the audience.

  • Panelists:
    Ian Sheldon (Andersons Professor of International Trade, OSU Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics)
    Elena Irwin (Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics, OSU)

  • Moderator:
    Michael Neblo (Political Science, OSU)