The Office of Alumni Affairs, in conjunction with the American Museum of Finance, a Smithsonian affiliate, organizes the Author Lecture Series at NYU Stern. The series, organized this year with the generous support of the 2004 MBA Class Legacy Campaign, brings distinguished authors to campus to present their recent, critically acclaimed works on financial, economic and business history, followed by a question and answer session and reception.
"We have had an overwhelming response to our Author Lecture Series," remarked Natalie Miranda, Director of Alumni Affairs. "Alumni and students enjoy the opportunity to attend a private lecture with renowned authors. The series is a part of our ongoing efforts to develop programming initiatives that provide lifelong learning opportunities for the Stern community."
January 30: William Silber, Marcus Nadler Professor of Finance and Economics, NYU Stern, on When Washington Shut Down Wall Street: The Great Financial Crisis of 1914 and the Origins of America's Monetary Supremacy
About the Book: When Washington Shut Down Wall Street traces Treasury Secretary William Gibbs McAdoo's triumph over a monetary crisis at the outbreak of World War I that threatened the United States with financial disaster. The biggest gold outflow in a generation imperiled America's ability to repay its debts abroad. Fear that the United States would abandon the gold standard sent the dollar plummeting on world markets. Without a central bank in the summer of 1914, the United States resembled a headless financial giant. William McAdoo stepped in with courageous action, we read in William Silber's gripping account. He shut the New York Stock Exchange for more than four months to prevent Europeans from selling their American securities and demanding gold in return. He smothered the country with emergency currency to prevent a replay of the bank runs that swept America in 1907. And he launched the United States as a world monetary power by honoring America's commitment to the gold standard. His actions provide a blueprint for crisis control that merits attention today. McAdoo's recipe emphasizes an exit strategy that allows policymakers to throttle a crisis while minimizing collateral damage. When Washington Shut Down Wall Street recreates the drama of America's battle for financial credibility. McAdoo's accomplishments place him alongside Paul Volcker and Alan Greenspan as great American financial leaders. McAdoo, in fact, nursed the Federal Reserve into existence as the 1914 crisis waned and served as the first chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.
About the Author: William L. Silber is Marcus Nadler Professor of Finance and Economics at the NYU Stern School of Business. He has published over 50 articles in professional journals as well as eight books and monographs, one of which, Principles of Money Banking and Financial Markets (with Lawrence Ritter), has been a standard text in colleges throughout the United States. He has been a Senior Economist with the President's Council of Economic Advisors and has served as a member of the Economic Advisory Panel of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. His experience in the business world includes trading options and futures contracts as a member of the New York Mercantile Exchange, managing an investment portfolio for Odyssey Partners, and serving as a Senior Vice President, Trading Strategy, at Lehman Brothers. At the NYU Stern School of Business he was voted Professor of the Year by MBA students in 1990 and 1997 and in 1999 he was awarded NYU's Distinguished Teaching Medal.
Event Details: This lecture will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m., with registration and check-in beginning at 6:00 p.m. The lecture will be followed by a question and answer period, book signing opportunity and a reception from 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. The lecture will be held in Schimmel Auditorium at NYU Stern.
To RSVP, please contact the Office of Alumni Affairs at (212) 998-4040 or alumnirsvp@stern.nyu.edu
If you are unable to attend the lecture, but would like to view the live or recorded webcast, please contact Keith Layton at (212) 998-0667 or via e-mail at klayton@stern.nyu.edu.
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