The deputy director of the federal agency responsible for insuring millions of American's pensions will speak March 11 at the University of Colorado at Boulder's Business and the Broader Culture Symposium.
The free symposium, "Corporate Retirement Security: Social and Ethical Issues," will be held from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Boulderado Hotel, 2115 13th St. in Boulder. The event is hosted by the Center for Business and Society of the Leeds School of Business.
Vincent K. Snowbarger, deputy executive director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., will give the keynote address at 4 p.m. Created in 1974, the federal agency insures the pension plans of more than 44 million American workers. Snowbarger will discuss the agency's role in the pension system and the problems that face the agency.
Recent news of pension failures and funding shortfalls at major companies in the airline and steel industries has brought to light a national issue that could affect millions of American workers.
"The pension system is a mammoth and poorly understood phenomenon with the greatest implications for society," said Bob Kolb, assistant dean for business and society at the Leeds School of Business. "We want to explore the pension's place in business and society, including the fact that when it comes to retirement, corporations have a great impact on the well-being of millions of people."
Symposium participants also will explore the roles corporations play in providing retirement security as well as individual responsibilities.
Speakers will include Peter Kinder, president of KLD Research and Analytics Inc. of Boston, who will talk about socially responsible investing as an investment strategy for pension funds. KLD is a research firm that provides social records of corporations to institutional investors such as pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds and banks.
Patricia Werhane, director of the Institute for Business and Professional Ethics at DePaul University, will speak about the ethical implications of pension plan changes and cancellations. Werhane also is a senior fellow at the Olsson Center for Applied Ethics in the Darden School at the University of Virginia.
The symposium, which will be an annual event for the Center for Business and Society, is meant to explore the relationship between business and other areas of culture including art, literature and politics.
Participants planning to attend must R.S.V.P. by calling (303) 492-0437 or by e-mailing bizsoc@colorado.edu.
For more information about the symposium visit the Center for Business and Society Web site at and click on Business and the Broader Culture Symposium.