Programs

Paul Volcker was the featured speaker at the formal dedication of the Clausen Center in October 2004, launching an active program of speakers, research and analysis, and publications. The Center is named for Alden W. 'Tom' Clausen, a Carthage graduate and trustee who led both Bank of America and the World Bank.

In an era when the world grows ever more interdependent, the A. W. Clausen Center for World Business at Carthage College offers a 21st century education to students, and reaches out to the larger community. The center unites the study of business, economics and political science in an international framework.

The Center has the handsome appearance of a corporate headquarters, with state-of-the art technology to help students develop professional presentation skills. Instead of large lecture halls, there are seminar and group study rooms, as well as classrooms designed to encourage group discussions. There is also a Starbuck's coffee shop.

We are committed to community service and reinforcing the strong presence of Carthage in Kenosha and Racine, Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. Outreach to secondary and primary schools is of particular interest. Intensive work with secondary schools strongly interested in international education is a priority. To date, partnerships have been established with Indian Trail Academy in Kenosha and Roosevelt High School in Chicago.

The Center has brought in such prominent speakers as Bruce DuMont, Chicago radio/television host and founder of the Museum of Broadcast Communications, authors David and Julie Eisenhower, scientist Sergei Khrushchev, CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider and actor Daniel J. Travanti. Students have also had the opportunity to meet with retired executives from Mobil Oil and Snap-on Inc., and members of the Wisconsin legislature.

The Clausen Center is also increasingly active in analysis of economic development and public policies that bear on our region. Activities have included a 2004 seminar on East Asia, and a conference on the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s and subsequent recovery. Representatives of the Canadian, Chinese, Japanese and South Korean governments have appeared at programs organized by the center.