Rebecca Blank, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and former acting United States secretary of commerce, will deliver a public lecture on the interplay between markets, government and the church Wednesday, on March 30, at Duke University.The lecture, which is free and open to the public, takes place at 5:30 p.m. in Fleishman Commons at the Sanford School of Public Policy. Parking is available in the Public Policy lot off Science Drive. Blank wrote about the topic in her book, “Is the Market Moral? A Dialogue on Religion, Economics and Justice,” coauthored with fellow economist and journalist William McGurn. She also chaired a United Church of Christ committee whose statement on Christian faith and economic life was adopted by the church. In a time of widespread distrust of the markets’ impact on society, such as deep recessions and widening inequality, and of government’s ability to address long-term problems, members of many religious traditions in the United States have developed somewhat uncomfortable relations with both the market and with government. Religious leaders sometimes act as partners with the market and government, but often try to claim an outside voice. Blank’s talk will reflect on how the interaction between markets and government affects the church and suggest how people of faith might choose to relate to these foundational structures of American society.Blank served in the commerce department from 2009 to 2013, working as secretary for economic affairs and deputy secretary before stepping into the top management role. During her time at the agency, she promoted economic development and emphasized research and innovation as paths to job creation and economic growth. Blank was dean and professor of public policy and economics in the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan from 1999 to 2008. Previously she taught at Northwestern University, Princeton University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.This event is part of the Duke Economics Department’s Allen Starling Johnson Jr. Lecture Series and the Center for Christianity and Scholarship’s Distinguished Christian Scholar Lecture series. It is co-sponsored by the Sanford School of Public Policy, the Kenan Institute for Ethics, Duke Divinity School, the Department of Political Science and the Center for Politics, Leadership, Innovation and Service (POLIS).
