February 26, 2002
Contact:
Sarah Ray
802-443-5794
sray@middlebury.edu
Posted: February 26, 2002
MIDDLEBURY,
VT - Reuben Mark, chief executive officer of consumer
products company Colgate-Palmolive and a member of the
Middlebury College class of 1960, will give the 13th annual
David K. Smith Lecture at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5. The
talk, titled The Contribution of the Liberal Arts to
Business Leadership, will take place in Dana
Auditorium in the Sunderland Language Center on College
Street (Route 125), and is free and open to the public.
Mark joined
Colgate, a global company whose products are sold in more
than 200 countries, as a trainee in 1963. He became
president of Colgates Venezuelan division in 1970,
president of Colgate-Canada two years later, and vice
president of Far East operations in 1974. In 1979, he was
appointed group vice president of the companys United
States division. He has been chief executive officer of the
company since 1984 and chairman of the board since 1986.
Prior to
joining Colgate, Mark earned a masters degree from
Harvard Business School. He is a strong advocate for
improving public education?under his leadership Colgate
sponsored the restructuring and rehabilitation of
Harlems Wadleigh School. Mark is also a member of the
board of Catalyst, a womens leadership organization.
Established
in honor of Professor Emeritus of Economics David K. Smith,
a member of the Middlebury College economics department from
1950-1988, the annual lecture maintains a focus on applied
economics. An undergraduate economics major at Middlebury
College, Smith received a masters degree and a
doctorate from Harvard prior to joining the department of
economics at Middlebury, where he served as department chair
for 15 years. Smiths students established the lecture
series in honor of his work as a teacher and mentor.
For more
information about the lecture, please contact Marie Winner
in the economics department of Middlebury College at
802-443-3198.