This past month has provided for very interesting news on a potential collaboration between big wig corporations Google and Verizon. A deal struck between the two threatens to do away with the internet policy known as Net Neutrality, bringing the Federal Communications Commission to the front lines. Andrea Bansil investigates this story.
After Eugene Lang College Dean Neil Gordon announced his decision not to seek re-appointment for the 2010-2011 school year, Lang faculty voted to support the hiring of Professor Stefania de Kennessey, Chair of the Arts Department at Lang, as interim Dean. We sat down with Professor de Kennessey to talk about the position.
Originally posted May 16, 2010.
Dr. David Van Zandt, a legal scholar, professor and dean of Northwestern University School of Law, has been named the next president of The New School, according to The New School’s office of communications and external affairs. Dr. Van Zandt succeeds Bob Kerrey on January 1, 2001. Kerrey is finishing his term seven months earlier than expected.
Kerrey’s tenure saw unprecedented growth at the university, but it was not without turmoil concerning student protests and handling of administrative decisions, including a faculty vote of no-confidence in late 2008. The current president is widely reported to have been in negotiations for the position of president of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). However, talks have since broken down and Kerrey has not announced any plans to follow his post at The New School.
New School Radio welcomes Dr. Van Zandt to The New School, and will have more on this story as it develops. For a press kit and more on Dr. Van Zandt’s history, visit newschool.edu.
In a conversation with host Julia Taylor Kennedy, Sarah Greenberg of RiskMetrics discusses the social and environmental risks that companies sometimes take and how these can affect the bottom line. Tobacco is a prime example. In the long run, a product that kills its consumers is not as viable as one that is sustainable. Greenberg begins with an anecdote about her interest in global society.
As host William Vocke explains, Smartphones present an ethical dilemma. They are manufactured with coltan, a material that is generally extracted from mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since the Congo is notorious for mineral exploitation, Vocke asks, would you boycott smartphones?
This July, three high-end New York City stores—Hollister, Abercrombie and Fitch, and Victoria’s Secret—admitted they had bedbugs, and the city just released a Bedbug Advisory Study. But the rise in bedbug infestations may be good news for one small business segment. Independent producer Miranda Shafer reports on an unusual professional collaboration.
Host Julia Taylor Kennedy speaks with Columbia University’s international executive-in-residence, Hans Decker. He earned that title by climbing through the top ranks of Siemens Corporation over 35 years, culminating in a 19-year run as president. “Money-making is the base for good business,” says Decker, “but we all intuitively know that there’s more to it.” Decker begins by telling Kennedy about his path from attorney in Germany to executive in the U.S.
