O'Connor adds a light touch to economic event

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was the featured speaker at the Economic Club luncheon hosted by the W.P. Carey School of Business on Thursday, Jan. 16. She was introduced by College of Law Dean Paul Schiff Berman, who outlined new programs and initiatives in which the legal and business communities intersect and can build new relationships.

An article on the event written by reporter Chad Graham in the Jan. 16 edition of the Arizona Republic, said the crowd of more than 350 howled when O'Connor shared a story of her father labeling as "garbage" the Keynesian economics she was studying at Stanford University. The Keynesian theory, which advocates government spending as a way to spark an economic turnaround, is back in vogue and currently being employed in an attempt to shore up the nation's faltering economy.

"An entertaining speech at an economic event is rare these days as the recession continues to increase job losses and produce other sorts of disturbing economic news," Graham wrote. "Thankfully, Arizona State University's W.P. Carey School of Business booked the feisty O'Connor as a keynote speaker at the Economic Club of Phoenix luncheon."

Read the article here.

Judy Nichols, Judith.Nichols@asu.edu
(480) 727-7895
Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law