Riley Institute presents stories of leadership during times of crisis March 26

Four Furman University alumni return to campus Tuesday, March 26, at 7 p.m. to tell their stories of leadership during potentially devastating crises. The event, which takes place in the Melvin and Dollie Younts Conference Center, is part of the Riley Institute at Furman’s yearlong celebration of principled leadership.

Free and open to the public, the program is presented in partnership with Furman’s Department of Politics and International Affairs. Registration is not required.

Deborah Malac

Speakers include U.S. Ambassador to Uganda Deborah Malac; Eric Spitler, the former director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) Office of Legislative Affairs; Beth Niblock, Detroit’s chief information officer (CIO); and Jason Terrell, executive director of Profound Gentlemen.

Malac is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service who has served with the Department of State since 1981. Before coming to Uganda, Malac was the U.S. Ambassador to Liberia. She will speak about her role in the response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak there.

Beth Niblock

Niblock served as CIO for Louisville Metro for 11 years and became Detroit’s CIO seven months after the city declared bankruptcy. She will speak about using information technology to help bring Detroit out of bankruptcy.

Eric Spitler

Spitler is currently the special advisor to the CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and was the director of the Office of Legislative Affairs at the FDIC during the 2008 financial crisis. He will speak about pulling the financial system back from the brink of disaster in 2008.

Jason Terrell

In 2015, Terrell co-founded Profound Gentlemen, a national agency dedicated to increasing the percentage of educators in America who are men of color beyond the current 2 percent. He will speak about his work dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline and creating a school-to-career pipeline for boys of color.

Danielle Vinson, a professor of political science at Furman University specializing in media and politics, will moderate the program.

All four speakers will share their expertise not only during the evening public event, but also during the day on campus—as guests in classes, over meals with students and faculty, and in other small group settings.

For more information about the event, contact the Riley Institute at 864-294-3546 or visit this link. Or contact the Furman News and Media Relations office at 864-294-3107.