I am pleased to invite you to our Founder’s Day celebration on Thursday, March 6, beginning at 11 a.m. in Commencement Hall. The College received its official charter from the Legislature of Virginia March 2, 1840. The charter was affirmed June 20, 1863, by the Legislature of the newly formed state of West Virginia.
Jeffrey L. Seglin, a 1978 Bethany graduate and an internationally acclaimed ethics columnist and Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, will be the keynote speaker. He authors a popular, internationally syndicated column, “The Right Thing.” He is the author or co-author of more than a dozen books on business and writing. The Right Thing: Conscience, Profit and Personal Responsibility in Today's Business was named one of the "Best Business Books of 2003" by the Library Journal.
Jeff has written for the New York Times, Fortune, Real Simple, FSB, Salon.com, Time.com, Sojourners, MIT's Sloan Management Review, Harvard Management Update, Business 2.0, ForbesASAP, CIO, CFO and MBA Jungle. He has contributed commentaries to Public Radio's “Marketplace” and has appeared as a commentator on CNN, CNBC, Fox 25, WGBH's Greater Boston and more. From 1999 until 2011, he was a tenured associate professor at Emerson College in Boston where he was also the director of the graduate program in publishing and writing. He has lectured throughout the country on business ethics and hosted an hour-long live television show, “Doing Well by Doing Good,” which aired on PBS’s Richmond, Va., affiliate.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Bethany, a master’s degree in theological studies from The Divinity School at Harvard University, and will receive the Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, at the Founder’s Convocation.
Following the Convocation, and a lunch honoring leaders from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), we will have the traditional wreath-laying ceremony at 1:30 p.m. at the Campbell Cemetery (in case of inclement weather, the event will be the Meeting House). The wreath will be placed at the gravesite of Alexander Campbell (1788-1866), Bethany College’s founder and first president. Guests are invited to visit the Campbell Mansion, one of Bethany’s National Historic Landmarks, following the ceremony.
All events are open to the public.
