August 10, 2010 - David Ratcliffe, chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company will speak at Samford University at 10 a.m. on Sept. 23 in Reid Chapel. One of the nation's largest generators of electricity, Southern Company is the parent of Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power and Mississippi Power, as well as several other business units and subsidiaries.
Ratcliffe recently announced he will retire Dec. 31 from a long career that began when he joined Georgia Power as a biologist in 1971, coordinating environmental monitoring and compliance programs for power plants. During his career he has served a CEO of both Georgia Power and MississipiPower.
His appearance is part of the Mann Center's continuing A. Gerow Hodges Lectures in Ethics and Leadership. Convo credit will be awarded to Samford students.
August 10, 2010 - Jim Leach, chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities, spoke July 29 at a Samford University forum entitled "Civility in a Fractured Society." Formerly a Republican congressman from Iowa for 30 years, Leach was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009 to chair the NEH. The event was part of his nationwide tour to promote greater civility in the nation's political life, and was sponsored by the Mann Center's Hodges Lecture Series, The Alabama Humanities Foundation, and the Birmingham Area Consortium for Higher Education.
Mann Center Director John C. Knapp interviewed Leach for the center's video series, "Conversations on Ethics and Leadership."