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The Practices and Theories of GlobalizationGlobalization as “the seemingly relentless integration of economies, societies and cultures into a borderless worldwide communications [technology] and supply network [is] a world-transforming process…not all which is pleasant,” (Morrison, 2010, p. 32). Although globalization is, and will probably remain for some time, one of “the most nebulous and misunderstood” concepts (Beck, 2001, p. 19), there is some common ground to be found among all the confusion. That is the idea of connections and relationships that go beyond the immediate, local environment (Gray, 1999). “Globalization is the process by which all peoples and communities come to experience an increasingly common economic, social and cultural environment; but globalization as a theory, deals with the compression of the world and intensification of consciousness of the world as a whole” (Robertson, 1992, p. 8).However, while the theory of globalization is relatively new, the process is not (Epstein, 2002). Robertson (1992) further states that globalization was initially discussed from economic perspectives, but soon after it became a topic for discussions among intellectuals from cultural perspectives as well. Therefore, it is essential to interpret globalization from both economic and cultural perspectives simultaneously to grasp its impact in every walk of life. According to Giddens “globalization is the dialectic of homogenization and heterogenization” (1991, p. 22). In other words, globalization, by intensifying the interconnectedness among different people, things, and ideas, homogenizes the world and yet at the same time, the world becomes heterogenized as people are more aware of differences due to the increasing proximity with differences under a globalized world (Giddens, 1991).The notion of the world community being transformed into a global village, as introduced in 1960 by Marshall McLuhan in an influential book about the newly shared experience of mass media, was likely to be the first expression of the contemporary concept of globalization (cited in Epstein, 2002). Despite its entry into the common lexicon in the 1960s, globalization was not recognized as a significant concept until the 1980s, when the complexity and multidimensionality of the process began to be examined. Prior to the 1980s, accounts of globalization focused on a professed tendency of societies to converge in becoming modern, described initially by Clark Kerr and colleagues as the emergence of industrial man (cited in Robertson, 1992).One critical issue that emerges from all of these restructuring processes is the central role of knowledge, education and learning for the success of the Global Information Society (GIS) and global information economy.Globalization impacts all aspects of society. Higher education may be one of the most affected by global trends, and economics and business contents seem particularly influenced by them. Otherwise, these fields, as social sciences, are framed by the culture of each region.The Increasing Role for the English LanguageA second critical issue is the consequences for languages. To view globalization from a language perspective, we therefore need to consider the use and status of languages in a global context, or what Maurais calls “their relationships and their competition on the world’s checkerboard” (2003, p. 13). This approach might be called a sociolinguistic perspective on globalization. The organization of languages and their relationships in a global context are outlined by de Swaan (2001):The human species is divided into more than five thousand groups each of which speaks a different language and does not understand any of the others. With this multitude of languages, humankind has brought upon itself a great confusion of tongues. But nevertheless, the entire human species remains connected: the division is overcome by people who speak more than one language and thus ensure communication between different groups. It is multilingualism that has kept humanity, separated by so many languages, together. The multilingual connections between language groups do not occur haphazardly, but, on the contrary, they constitute a surprisingly strong and efficient network that ties together–directly or indirectly–the six billion inhabitants of earth. It is this ingenious pattern of connections between language groups that constitutes the global language system (p. 1).The epic center of the world’s languages is English. English is the one language that “connects the supercentral languages with one another and that therefore constitutes the pivot of the world language system” (de Swaan, 2001, p. 6). English obtained this position at the core of the global language system due to a variety of historical reasons, namely “large scale migration and settlement of native language speakers, military imposition (colonialism), commercial or political power and prestige derived from scientific, cultural or other achievements” (Leitner, 1992, p. 186). Additionally, the brightest students from almost every country in the world come to study in U.S. universities rendering English as the main language of books, newspapers, academic conferences, science,, international business, medicine and especially the internet now has official or special status in over 70 countries across Africa, Asia and the Pacific (Crystal, 1997, p. 3).However, some interpret globalization as a form of colonization. As Holly (1990) writes:English is not simply a language like any other language. In the contemporary world it can also act as a means of politico-cultural colonization serving the interests of the most powerful concentrations of economic power the world has ever known. (p. 18)English speaking countries such the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand can attribute their economic gains to the global spread of English language facilitated by the internet. It is English language education and education using English as the language of instruction are a big business for English-speaking countries, such as the United States, Britain, Canada, and Australia (Kaplan, 2001). In the academic year 2000-2001, 548,000 international students in the United States contributed 11 billion dollars to U.S. economy (Economist Global Agenda, 2002, May 21).The Impacts of GlobalizationThe globalization of the economy and its concomitant demands on the workforce requires a different education that enhances the ability of learners to access, assess, adopt, and apply knowledge, to think independently to exercise appropriate judgment and to collaborate with others to make sense of new situations. Globalization is not the only factor behind the changes that are affecting education, and likewise it is not the only factor that motivates the local interest groups that formulate policy. Nevertheless globalization has posed challenges of a hitherto unknown nature to nation states, and much of the seemingly recent, never-ending change in education is a corollary of these challenges. The nature and complexity of the forces involved in globalization that any discussion of its impact upon education raises fundamental issues and should be a matter of considerable debate among educationists, researchers, and policy makers.SchoolingAs the major formal agency for conveying knowledge, schooling features prominently in the process and theory of globalization. Early examples of educational globalization include the spread of global religions, especially Islam and Christianity, and colonialism, which often disrupted and displaced indigenous forms of schooling. Recent postcolonial globalizing influences of education, over the last 200 years, have taken on more subtle shapes. In globalization, it is not merely the business transaction and political agreement, but also the shared consciousness of being part of a global system that bring nations and societies together. That consciousness is developed through transnational movements of people and most recently over the last twenty years the spread of computer technology and media.. The unalterable transformation of consciousness brought on by globalization impacts the content and delivery of education, as schools play a significant role in the process.A policy of using schools as part of the democratization process often accompanies structural adjustment measures. However, encouraging user fees to help finance schooling has meant a reduced ability of people in some impoverished areas of the world to buy books and school materials and even attend school, thus enlarging the gap between rich and poor and impeding democracy. Even in areas displaying a rise in educational participation, observers have reported a reduction in civic participation. Increased emphasis on formalism in schooling could plausibly contribute to this result. An expansion of school civics programs could, for example, draw energy and resources away from active engagement in political affairs by youths, whether within or outside of schools.By mid-twentieth century, missionaries and colonialism had brought core Western ideas and practices to many parts of the world. With contemporary globalization, penetration of the world periphery by means of education has been accomplished mainly in other ways, especially as contingent on structural adjustment and democratization projects. Some scholars, including Howard R. Woodhouse, have claimed that people on the periphery are "mystified" by dominant ideologies, and willingly, even enthusiastically and without conscious awareness of implications, accept core Western learning and thereby subordinate themselves to the world system.The shift of the focus on the role of education in globalization has changed in terms of the structural adjustment in policies of the World Bank and other international lending organizations for underdeveloped and low-income countries. These organizations push their hidden agenda such as cuts in government expenditures, market liberalization, currency devaluations, reductions of government subsidies, price controls, and most importantly the privatization of public services such as health and education.In regard to education, structural adjustment in policies presumably reduces public bureaucracies that hinder the delivery of more and better education. By cutting wasteful expenditures and increasing responsiveness among concerned agencies, these policies promote schooling more efficiently. However, Samoff (1994) noted that observers have reported structural adjustment policies often encourage an emphasis on inappropriate skills and reproduce existing social and economic inequalities, leading actually to lowered enrollment rates, degradation in the quality of education, and a gap between educational needs and provisions.CapitalismLevin (2001) contends that open capitalism and global multi-national corporations projects a perception that the world is becoming a shared social place by technological and economic advances. The world has become so interlinked that there is a common consensus among educationists and policy makers that it is having a lasting impact on our educational missions and goals. In his own words:It may be that consciousness of a global society, culture, and economy and global interdependence are the cornerstones of globalization, and these consciousness and interdependency have saliency in knowledge based enterprises … there is certain inevitability that higher education institutions, because of their cultural, social, and economic roles, are caught up in and affected by globalization. (Levin, 2001, p. 9)Educational InnovationsSimilarly, Burbules and Torres (2000) have emphasized the need for educational innovations in light of changing contexts and emerging new circumstances globally. Some believe that capitalist interests of First-World countries are in dire need of skilled labor forces to increase their economic gains. Thus they seek to meet their human resources supply and demand by increasing the educational level of marginalized Third-World countries. They argue that the false perception is that these peoples’ socio-economic conditions are being improved due to the process of globalization. However, in reality, the market-driven agenda of First-World countries may not be to empower the people and improve their living conditions but to fulfill their need to continue economic gains in terms of abundant work-forces from poor countries. In this regard, it is worthwhile to refer to Bigelow and Peterson (2002) who state that “It is impossible to separate our teaching about wretched conditions of workers around the world from all the factors that produced the desperation that forces people to seek work in those conditions” (p. 3). White (2008) states:Neo- liberalism is a self-serving socio-economic ideology advanced by an elitist class of First-World international power brokers in order to advance their specific capitalist interests. These interests do not seek authentic global cooperation and collaboration for the good of all humankind but use globalist’s language as a linguistic camouflage to conceal their real motives. (p. 133)The Spread of DemocratizationAs part of the globalization process, the spread of education is widely viewed as contributing to democratization throughout the world. Schools prepare people for participation in the economy, giving them the knowledge to make responsible judgments, the motivation to make appropriate contributions to the well being of society, and a consciousness about the consequences of their behavior. National and international assistance organizations, such as the U. S. Agency for International Development and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), embrace these objectives. Four key elements of globalization are described in the UNESCO education position paper (2004) as follows: 1) the growing importance of the knowledge society/economy; 2) the development of new trade agreements which cover trade in education services; 3) the innovations related to ICT; and 4) the emphasis on the role of the market and the market economy.These factors are catalysts to new developments, namely:The emergence of new education providers such as multi-national companies, corporate universities, and media companies;New forms of delivering education including distance, virtual, and new face-to-face;Greater diversification of qualifications and certificates;Increasing mobility of students, program, providers, and projects across national borders;More emphasis on lifelong learning which in turn increases demand for post-secondary education; andIncreasing amount of private investment in the provision of higher education.The global market in educational services is estimated by Merril Lynch to be worth outside of the United States $ 111 billion a year with a “potential consumer base of 32 million students” (cited in Spring, 2009. p. 84). The data of the U.S. Department of Commerce indicate that higher education is the fifth-largest service sector “export” for the United States (Economist Global Agenda, 2002, May 21). Of the almost 2.8 million international tertiary students studying worldwide, the United States of America and the United Kingdom host the largest numbers of foreign students, accounting for 21.2% and 12.0% of total international students, respectively, in 2006. Education services ranks as the third largest export category earner for the year 2007-08. Overall, international students, and the associated visitation from friends and family contributed $12.6 billion in value-added to the Australian economy and generates 0.29 in full-time equivalent (FTE) workers (Access Economics, 2009).Along with mass provision of schools, technological advances have permitted distance education to convey Western concepts to the extreme margins of society, exposing new regions and populations to knowledge generated by culturally dominant groups and helping to absorb them into the consumer society.Increased privatization of education in the name of capitalist democratization could invite greater participation of corporate entities, with the prospect of commercializing schools and reducing their service in behalf of the public interest.In this regard, it is important to note that Joel Spring (2009) has speculated that the three major consequences of the growth of the multinational corporations in educational sectors, first, the creation of a level of uniformity in global education culture as the result of marketing of for-profit schools, the international use of testing products, global databases, and most importantly, the publishing of textbooks for global markets. Second, exertion of corporate control of the ideologies disseminated through schools around the world. Third, globally marketed schools and worldwide information and publishing corporations might transform and displace local cultures (p. 88).Higher Education Challenges in a Globalized WorldGlobalization is interdependence. Globalization is neither good nor bad. It is exactly what we do that decides the ethical decisions made in higher education from both a macro and micro approach that decides our course of actions. Just as universities purged their holdings that were found to support transnational crimes, we now must continue to review our policies and implementation practices that impact the global humankind. Multiple voices must be present on our leadership teams to ensure all aspects are critically analyzed. The conflicting aspects of market forces and our fundamental mission to educate is our most pressing issue.Globalization is a growing challenge to higher education institutions worldwide since it brings not only opportunities but also concerns to higher institutions and universities. Duderstadt, Taggart and Weber (2008) go so far that they argue that there is a serious imbalance between educational need and educational capacity-many of our universities are in the wrong place, where populations are aging and perhaps even declining rather than young and growing, driving major population migration and all too frequently the clash of cultures and ethnicity (p. 274). They further argue that current estimates suggest that the number of students seeking university degrees will roughly double over the next two decades to as high as 250 million, with most of this growth in the developing world (p. 277).And, there is no doubt that higher education institutions, especially research universities, are among the main agents of global convergence. Globalization breaks down barriers and connects institutions across the world making universities in every country visible to each other, facilitating knowledge flows, values on global learning, and creation of new opportunities for advanced graduates. The president of NYU, John Sexton developed the concept of “idea capitals” for research universities. Regarding the global spread of research universities, Sexton stated, “the evolving global dynamic will bring about the emergence of a set of world centers of intellectual, cultural, and educational strength; and recognition that research universities will be key to these “idea capitals” (cited in Spring, 2009, pp. 107-108).American UniversitiesAs might be expected, such marketization and commoditization have led to a significant privatization of education in a number of countries, in the United States, for example, schooling, higher education and training have been seen as lucrative markets to be in. Giroux (2000) reports that education markets represented around $600 billion in revenue for corporate interests. Over 1000 state schools have been contracted out to private companies. However, we need to understand the nature of the forces that have pushed governments into adopting such policies and it is here that we can see the process of globalization directly at work (Monbiot 2001, p. 331).Likewise, Duderstadt, Taggart and Weber (2008) argue that in a knowledge-driven economy, many governments are increasingly viewing higher education basically as a private benefit to students and other patrons of the university rather than a public good benefiting all of society. This is really a major shift in the value position from that of government responsibility for supporting the educational needs of society to university responsibility for addressing the economic needs of government-an interesting reversal of traditional responsibilities and roles (Duderstadt, Taggart & Weber, 2008, p. 274). In the words of spring Spring (2009) who states “What is strikingly new is the conceptualization of trade in educational services as a source of income to be included in the financial planning of nations, educational institutions, and for-profit multinational corporations” (p. 83).On the other hand, in his book “Post American World,” Fareed Zakaria (2009) argues that higher education is America’s best industry. Eight of the top ten universities in the world are in the United States. By 2010, foreign students will get more than 50 percent of all Ph.D.’s awarded in every subject, and in the sciences, that figure will be closer to 75 percent. He further argues that the United States invests 2.6 percent of its GDP in higher education, compared with 1.2 percent in Europe and 1.1 percent in Japan (pp.190-191).It is not surprising that all the above given assertions and claims seem to be true. According to the latest report on enrollments in academic year 2008-09 based on a comprehensive survey of approximately 3,000 accredited U.S higher education institutions of all types and sizes: International students all time high in numbers 671,616 contributed $17.8 billion to the U.S. economy, 65% of all international students receive the majority of their funds from personal and family sources and 70% of all international students’ primary funding comes from sources outside of the United States. (Open Doors Report, 2009, November 16)In a more global setting higher education institutions have more plural sources of finance and they need autonomy and academic freedom to be both intra and inter global effective. American universities, though now severely challenged, are still perceived as being in the top rung of the higher education ladder.Australian and European UniversitiesAustralian universities currently have the perception of being strong contenders with their blend of relevant programs and high quality research. European universities are regrouping to capture a better place in the global market. In the Task Force report (2000) of the World Bank on higher education in developing countries, it is stated that “The task force believes that, in the knowledge economy, highly trained specialists and broadly educated generalists will be at a premium, and both will need to be educated more flexibly so that they continue to learn as their environment develops” (p. 14). However, in the report it is also stated that Higher Education in Developing Countries: Peril and Promise does not offer a universal blueprint for reforming higher education systems, but it does provide a starting point for action. While the benefits of higher education continue to rise, the costs of being left behind are also growing. Higher education is no longer a luxury: it is essential to national social and economic development (p. 14).Chinese UniversitiesThe changing trends of higher education are visible as many countries have set ambitious targets, for example, China had a goal of expanding vocational education so that at least 50 percent of the enrolments in secondary education would be in vocational education in the near future; India has a similar target of reaching 25 percent; and Bangladesh 20 percent (Tilak 2002). The impact of globalization is also evident in China's current push in higher education.Recognizing that the country needs a better-trained workforce in order to move up the economic value chain, the central government of China has committed itself to boosting scholarship and other types of aid in 2008 to $2.7 billion, up from $240 million in 2006. Officials have plans to expand overall government spending on education, which was a merely 2.8 percent of GDP in 2006 to 4 percent by 2010, a large portion of which will be devoted to small number of globally competitive elite institutions. (Zakaria, 2009, pp. 95-96)Indian UniversitiesIndia is one of the largest higher education system in the world facing the crisis of, university of the poor, with continued expansion, deteriorating standards, limited resources, and political involvement (Swar & Panday, 2008). In this regard, it is important to note that recently, the Indian government has approved the Foreign Education Providers (Regulatory) Bill (2010) that will allow foreign universities to open branches in India. When this bill becomes a law after approval in the parliament, foreign universities will be able to enter the education market. However, this raises some concerns among Indian politicians as many believe that there would be no control, over export and import of higher education, and the private institutions, from overseas would open branches in India, exchange of degrees and certificates that would go on without any restrictions. Some of politicians argue that Indian Universities are already at loss as more than 50,000 students of our country are studying abroad in U.S., Australia and U.K., where as a very small number of foreign students are seeking admissions in Indian Universities.On the other hand, some politicians argue that the presence of foreign universities, within India would also undermine task of creation of knowledge and services for the community and for nation building, as Indian Universities have their special mission to provide traditional educational values, which perpetuate the caste system which severely impacts women along with teaching, learning and research. The vedic values of gurukul, are embedded in the higher education of India, to preserve the cultural heritage to keep our customs, rituals and spiritual touch of divinity alive (Swar & Pandey, 2008).Concluding ThoughtsWe suggest that for higher education faculty and administrators, our university policies can greatly impact our international and national students to help them explore innovative perspectives to educate humankind for future global citizenship. Education toward a future where global cooperation is the social norm and the notion of universal citizenship is the foundation of a globalized world. Universities, though pressured by market forces can and must lead in framing education policies to ensure that the common good of the world is our focus.The objective of education is no longer simply to convey a body of knowledge, but to teach how to learn, problem-solve and synthesize the old with the new. The emphasis is less on community and equity, and rather more on individual advancement and the need to satisfy investors and influential consumers. Education has come to resemble a private, rather than public, good. Only focused aware actions by those in higher education can ensure the role of universities in the promise of a better life. Thus, there is an urgent need for setting up new agendas and curricula issues to address the challenges of higher education in a globalized world. It is important to note that global processes are putting immense pressure on educational practices world-wide. Spring (2009) not only underscores the emergence of the global superstructures and multi-national corporations in the education sectors but also reminds us that that we cannot simply ignore global processes in the evaluations of educational (including higher education) policies, practices, discourses, and curriculum in local contexts.We propose that higher education institutions consider in their strategic planning the world-wide forces from economic and social perspectives.First, the challenge that most global educators are facing is to design visionary and new agendas to cultivate a re-vision of humankind with the view of generating the learners’ intellect necessary to cope with the complexity of globalization as an evolving new reality. The emergence of globalization is making educators’ task more challenging than ever it was.Second, it must be the utmost priority of the higher institutes to cater the needs and demands of diverse population of the global world.Third, higher education institutions need to look for all possible avenues and to foster their quality of education.Finally, in this evolving global context, American higher education institutions need to creatively operate out-of-the-box attitudes and prepare themselves for new challenges of the 21st century and establish more networking, collaboration, cooperation and more importantly to embrace developing multidimensional scholarship.Following is the link for newly created space for getting all Indian government jobs updates. Because many students say that they missed to fill the form and now the time has gone. So, let me remind you in a proper time about the jobs, it’s all description, providing link for main website to fill this form, sending link for videos that how to fill this form. So, follow this newly created space and this space is managing from the student of Banaras Hindu University.Link…Following is the link of newly created You Tube Channel- “India tour”. Here, you will find all the videos related to the rich diversity of India. If you like the videos then subscribe the channel because Your one subscribe will make the US dollar, come into Indian Economy. So subscribe the channel…India TourThis is You Tube channel-India Tour. Basically, on this channel you see the all tourism place whatever we hear from any people. We know that looking anything live is the another thing but whenever we go somewhere then which kinds of things are popular on that area, that also matters. So, about the famous things of that particular criteria, you would be able to get information about that particular place. Except, the information about any tourism place in India, you will also also be able to know about the importance of that tourism centre and you will also be able to get the particular information about that tourism centre. Is You Tube channekl par aap sabhi log Bharat ke baare mein sabhi jankari ekatra kar paasyenge aur wo saari jankari Bharat ke prachalit jagahon ke baare mein hogi. Saath hi aap sabhi un tamam videos ko dekh paayenge, jin par unse sambamdhit jaankariyan hogi, jo bharat ke bhavishya ko prastut karta hai.https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI0S7f2y_9C5IBkyRl5LyBg/featured

Most Objectivist thinkers are ‘little known’ outside of Objectivist circles so I will post a list of the ones I know.Objectivist Intellectual’s Biographies (85) last updated 10/14/18 (not complete)Amesh AdaljaMD, 2002, American University of the CaribbeanDr. Adalja, a board-certified physician in infectious disease, critical care medicine, emergency medicine and internal medicine, specializes in the intersection of national security with catastrophic health events. He publishes and lectures on bio-terrorism, pandemic preparedness and emerging infectious diseases. He has been a guest on national radio and television programs.John AllisonMBA, Management, 1974, Duke UniversityMr. Allison is president and CEO of the Cato Institute. He was previously chairman and CEO of BB&T Corporation, the 10th-largest financial services holding company headquartered in the United States. During Allison’s tenure as CEO from 1989 to 2008, BB&T grew from $4.5 billion to $152 billion in assets.Carl BarneyCarl Barney is a businessman who, among other business activities, owns and manages several private business colleges.Rituparna BasuBS, Biology, 2010, Pennsylvania State UniversityMs. Basu is a health care policy analyst at ARI. Her work has appeared in publications such as Forbes and The Daily Caller, and she has been interviewed on radio and TV programs, internationally. Ms. Basu has briefed congressional staffers and speaks regularly at university campuses, including Georgetown, Emory and Temple.Ben BayerPhD, Philosophy, 2007, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignDr. Bayer teaches philosophy at Loyola University New Orleans. His research focuses primarily on questions about the foundations of knowledge and the freedom of the will.Robert BegleyRobert Begley is a writer for The Objective Standard. He is the founder and president of the NY Heroes Society, an organization dedicated to promoting heroism in the culture. Robert is also a judge in Anthem, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged essay contests. He was the host and producer for the Manhattan Cable TV program, The Voice of Reason. Robert is currently writing a book about the history of New York heroes.Michael S. BerlinerPhD, Philosophy, 1970, Boston UniversityDr. Berliner is the founding executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute and served as co-chairman of ARI’s board of directors. He is editor of "Letters of Ayn Rand", "Understanding Objectivism" and a recent biography of operetta composer Emmerich Kálmán. Dr. Berliner taught philosophy and philosophy of education for many years at California State University, Northridge.ANDREW BERNSTEINPhD, Philosophy, 1986, City University of New YorkAndrew Bernstein holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the Graduate School of the City University of New York. He has taught at Hunter College, the New School for Social Research, Pace University and Marymount College, where he was chosen Outstanding Faculty Member for 1995. He currently teaches at the State University of New York at Purchase, where he was selected Outstanding Faculty Member for 2004.Dr. Bernstein has lectured at universities across the United States, including at Harvard, Yale, Stanford, the United States Military Academy at West Point and many others; and at philosophical conferences both in America and abroad. He is the author of The Capitalist Manifesto: The Historic, Economic and Philosophic Case for Laissez-Faire, to be published in the spring of 2005 by University Press of America. His first novel, Heart of a Pagan, was released in 2002. He is currently writing Objectivism in One Lesson, an introduction to the philosophy of Ayn Rand. His website is Andrew Bernstein | Philosopher and TeacherDr. Bernstein is the author of "The Capitalist Manifesto" (2005), "Objectivism in One Lesson" (2008), "Capitalism Unbound" (2010), "Capitalist Solutions" (2011), and of numerous essays. He is currently writing “Heroes and Hero Worship” for the Clemson Institute for the Study of Capitalism. Dr. Bernstein lectures widely on Ayn Rand’s novels and Objectivism.DAVID BERRYD.M.A., Composition, 2002, University of South CarolinaDavid Berry is an associate professor of music. He teaches courses across a wide range of historical and theoretical musical subjects including film music. He is a recorded and published (BMI) composer with performances of his music in America and Europe in both fine art and popular music genres.CRAIG BIDDLEB.A., Fine Arts, 1988, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityCraig Biddle is the author of Loving Life: The Morality of Self-Interest and the Facts That Support It and is currently writing another book, Good Thinking for Good Living: The Science of Being Selfish. In addition to writing, he lectures on the Objectivist ethics and teaches workshops on thinking in principles. Editor and Publisher of “The Objective Standard”Specialties: Ethics, ObjectivismHARRY BINSWANGERPh.D., Philosophy, 1973, Columbia UniversityDr. Binswanger is the author of The Biological Basis of Teleological Concepts, the editor of The Ayn Rand Lexicon and co-editor of the second edition of Ayn Rand’s Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology. Dr. Binswanger is a professor of philosophy at the Ayn Rand Institute’s Objectivist Academic Center and is a member of ARI’s board of directors. He is currently working on a book on the nature of consciousness.Dr. Binswanger is the author of "How We Know" and "The Biological Basis of Teleological Concepts", the editor of "The Ayn Rand Lexicon" and co-editor of the second edition of Ayn Rand’s "Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology". He is an instructor of philosophy at the Ayn Rand Institute’s Objectivist Academic Center and a member of ARI’s board of directors.TORE BOECKMANNWriterMr. Boeckmann has written and lectured extensively on Ayn Rand’s fiction and philosophy of esthetics. He edited for publication Rand’s The Art of Fiction. His own fiction has been published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. He is currently writing a book on Romantic literature.Thomas A. BowdenSpecialties: Legal issues, physician-assisted suicide, abortion rights, mandatory community service.Mr. Bowden, an attorney in private practice in Baltimore, Maryland, taught at the University Of Baltimore School Of Law from 1988 to 1994. Author of a booklet against multiculturalism, “The Enemies of Christopher Columbus,” he has also published op-eds in the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, Philadelphia Inquirer, Portland Oregonian, Los Angeles Daily News, Minneapolis Star Tribune, and Charlotte Observer. He is a former member of the board of directors of The Association for Objective Law, a non-profit group whose purpose is to advance Objectivism, the philosophy of Ayn Rand, as the basis of a proper legal system. In that connection, Mr. Bowden has filed amicus curiae briefs in the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal for the Second and Third Circuits, challenging mandatory community service for high school students on legal and moral grounds.YARON BROOKPh.D., Finance, 1994, University of Texas at AustinDr. Brook is president and executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute. A former finance professor, he has published in academic as well as popular publications, and is frequently interviewed in the media. He has appeared on CNN, Fox News Channel and PBS among others. On college campuses across America and in the boardrooms of large corporations, he has lectured on Objectivism, business ethics and foreign policy.Dr. Brook is executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute. He is the coauthor of the national best-seller “Free Market Revolution: How Ayn Rand’s Ideas Can End Big Government” and a contributing author to both “Neoconservatism: An Obituary for an Idea” and “Winning the Unwinnable War: America’s Self-Crippled Response to Islamic Totalitarianism.”ANDY CLARKSONMBA University of MarylandMr. Clarkson is a decades-long Objectivist He has focused on researching the history of ideas and published The Impact of Aristotle Upon Christian, Islamic, and Jewish Cultures : A Compilation of Notes and Quotes From A Variety of Sources Plus Commentary, published in December 2016.PAT CORVINIPh.D., Electrical Engineering, 1995, University of California at Santa BarbaraDr. Corvini recently left a twenty-year career in semiconductor optoelectronics to work full time in the history of science and mathematics. She lectured on Archimedes at the 2003 Objectivist Summer Conference.SUSAN CRAWFORDB.S.N, Nursing, 1982, Marymount College, VirginiaSusan Crawford is a registered nurse. She has given two parenting courses and wrote the pamphlet “The Reading Habit/Money Management.” Susan is married to Jack Crawford and the mother of two sons, Jason and DavidERIC DANIELSPh.D., American History, 2001, University of WisconsinDr. Daniels is a visiting assistant professor of history at Duke University’s Program on Values and Ethics in the Marketplace. He has lectured at summer conferences and to numerous Objectivist community groups. He is an alumnus of ARI’s Objectivist Graduate Center (precursor to the Objectivist Academic Center). A contributor to the Oxford Companion to United States History, he is currently working on a book about American politics andDr. Daniels works at LePort Schools, teaching science and history, and as a curriculum developer. Previously, he was a professor at Clemson, Duke and Georgetown Universities. Dr. Daniels has published book chapters and articles on antitrust, individualism and economic freedom.John DennisPhD, Psychology, 2010, University of Texas at AustinDr. Dennis teaches at Catholic University in Milan, University of Perugia and University of Alberta. His research on motivation is funded by the EU and Templeton Foundation. He is a licensed psychologist trained in CBT. In 2013 Dr. Dennis started Melioravit, a scientific communication company that helps researchers get funded, published and cited.Robert van DortmondMSc in Applied Physics, Delft University of Technology; Executive Program, Stanford Graduate SchoolMr. van Dortmond teaches entrepreneurship at the University of Amsterdam/The Amsterdam Centre for Entrepreneurship. He is an active mentor, shareholder and board member of various startups. He speaks on Ayn Rand’s ideas and is an advisory board member of ARI Europe of which he was one of the initiators.Dianne DuranteSpecialties: Esthetics, painting, sculpture, homeschooling.Dr. Durante is a freelance writer on art and current events. She has lectured on painting and sculpture at Objectivist conferences; several of these lectures are available on tape from the Ayn Rand Bookstore. She has also just finished a book on New York sculpture, Forgotten Delights: The Producers. Dr. Durante and her husband homeschool their daughter in Brooklyn, NY.Alex EpsteinSpecialties: Current Affairs, racism, and moral defense of businessmen.Alex Epstein is an Objectivist speaker and writer living in Richmond, VA. His Op-Eds have been published in dozens of newspapers around the country, including The Houston Chronicle, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Miami Herald, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Washington Times. He is also a regular contributor to The Intellectual Activist, a monthly magazine analyzing political and cultural issues from an Objectivist perspective. Mr. Epstein holds a BA in philosophy from Duke University, where he was editor and publisher of The Duke Review for two years.STUART MARK FELDMANM.A., Art, 1975, Rowan University, New JerseyStuart Feldman works in bronze, stone and wood, creating sculptures of the human figure expressing man’s most noble and inspiring qualities. A former instructor at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, he is cofounder of the Schuylkill Academy of Fine Art, in Philadelphia. His sculptures are held in private collections, and he has created a number of commissioned pieces.ROBERT GARMONGPh.D., Philosophy, 2002; University of Texas at AustinDr. Garmong is a graduate of the Objectivist Graduate Center, and has lectured on philosophy at many Objectivist conferences. He is the author of “J.S. Mill’s Re-Conceptualization of Liberty,” currently under submission to publishers. Dr. Garmong teaches philosophy at Texas A&M University and at Texas State University.MARILYN (GEORGE) GRAYB.S., Child Development, 1961, Iowa State UniversityMarilyn George is a retired Montessori teacher, school owner and administrator. She holds teaching certificates from both the American Montessori Society and the International Association of Progressive Montessorians and was a Montessori teacher for twenty-five years. She owned, administered and taught for ten years in her own school, which had an international reputation for excellence. She taught Montessori courses at Seattle University for more than ten years and has consulted for schools nationwide. Marilyn has been ballroom dancing since she met Ted Gray at a conference in 1989, at her first lesson, and today they compete at the Silver level.Debi GhateLLB, Law, University of Calgary, 1995Ms. Ghate is vice president of Education and Research at the Ayn Rand Institute, where she heads up a variety of educational and policy-related programs. She is also director of the Anthem Foundation for Objectivist Scholarship, an organization that supports academic scholarship based on Ayn Rand’s work.Onkar GhatePhD, Philosophy, 1996, University of CalgaryDr. Ghate is senior fellow and chief content officer at the Ayn Rand Institute. He specializes in Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism, and is ARI’s senior instructor and editor. He publishes and lectures on Rand’s philosophy and fiction, including application of Objectivism in the culture, and has been a guest on national radio and television programs.GENA GORLINPhD, Clinical Psychology, 2012, University of VirginiaMs. Gorlin has two years of experience conducting individual psychotherapy with anxious and depressed young adults. Her research has been published in highly regarded academic journals. She is also a graduate of the Objectivist Academic Center and a former board member of The Undercurrent, a national campus publication.Allan Gotthelf (deceased)Specialties: Love, self-esteem, happiness, Objectivism, AristotleAllan Gotthelf is emeritus professor of philosophy at The College of New Jersey. He is an internationally recognized authority on the philosophy of Aristotle, with many scholarly publications. He has lectured on Objectivism and Aristotle — including their views on love and sex, self-esteem, and individual happiness — throughout North America and in Europe and Japan. He has been a visiting professor at Swarthmore College, Georgetown University, Oxford University, Tokyo Metropolitan University, and most recently, the University of Texas at Austin. In 1987, Dr. Gotthelf was one of the founders of the Ayn Rand Society; a professional organization affiliated with the American Philosophical Association, Eastern Division, and has headed it since 1990. He enters his second year as Visiting Professor of Historyand Philosophy of Science (HPS) at the University of Pittsburgh. Prof. Gotthelf holds the Pitt Fellowship for the Study of Objectivism, funded by the Anthem Foundation and he will be working throughout the year on various projects in connection with his Fellowship. He is the author of On Ayn Rand (Wadsworth Publishing, 2000), the best-selling book in the Wadsworth Philosophers Series.4-19-2007 from his website:Visiting Professor, under the university's new Fellowship for the Study of Objectivism (Member: Classics, Philosophy and Ancient Science Program). A specialist on Aristotle's biology and philosophy, and on the philosophy of Ayn Rand, Gotthelf is emeritus professor of philosophy at The College of New Jersey, and has taught on a visiting basis at Swarthmore, Oxford, Georgetown, Tokyo Metropolitan, and the University of Texas at Austin. He is a life member of Clare Hall Cambridge, and was a visiting member of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. Gotthelf is author of On Ayn Rand (Wadsworth Philosophers Series, 2000); co-editor of Philosophical Issues in Aristotle's Biology (Cambridge 1987); editor of Aristotle on Nature and Living Things (Pittsburgh 1985); and has prepared for publication D.M. Balme's posthumous editions of Aristotle's Historia Animalium (Cambridge 2002, Cambridge MA 1991). His collected Aristotle papers will by published next year by Oxford University Press, under the title: Teleology, Scientific Method, and Substance: Essays on Aristotle's Biological Enterprise. He is currently working on several Aristotle projects and an extended study of Rand's theory of concepts, essences, and objectivity.TED GRAYB.S., Mechanical Engineering, 1965, Northeastern University;M.S., Mechanical Engineering, 1971, Brooklyn Polytechnic InstituteTed Gray, an engineer, has been dancing since his teens. They both consider dancing primarily a social and romantic activity. Occasionally, they enter amateur dance competitions. As a couple they have given many formal and informal group lessons—at home, at conferences and on a cruise ship. Ted is a mechanical engineer with forty years experience in design and analysis of structures, and prevention of vibration. He is an amateur student of history, enjoying especially the biographies of great Americans and the history of technology. He has been a student of Objectivism for thirty-eight years.Hannes HackerSpecialties: history and politics of the space program, science and technology.Mr. Hacker graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a BS degree in aerospace engineering in May 1988. He earned a MS degree in aerospace engineering at the University of Texas at Austin December 1990. He has eleven years of space-flight operations experience including work on the space shuttle, international space station and commercial communications satellites.DAVID HARRIMANB.S., Physics, 1979, University of California at Berkeley;M.S., Physics, 1982, University of Maryland;M.A., Philosophy, 1995, Claremont Graduate University, CaliforniaDavid Harriman is the editor of Journals of Ayn Rand and a senior writer for the Ayn Rand Institute. He has lectured extensively on the history and philosophy of physics. He is currently developing the physical science curriculum at VanDamme Academy and working on two books: one demonstrating the influence of philosophy on modern physics (The Anti-Copernican Revolution) and the other presenting Leonard Peikoff’s theory of induction (Induction in Physics and Philosophy).David HolcbergSpecialties: Environmentalism, science, capitalism. David Holcberg holds a degree in civil engineering and is a senior writer for the Ayn Rand Institute.JONATHAN HOENIGCommunications and Philosophy, 1999, Northwestern UniversityMr. Hoenig manages Capitalistpig Hedge Fund, LLC. A former floor trader, his first book, Greed Is Good, was published by HarperCollins. Mr. Hoenig has written for publications including The Wall Street Journal, Wired andMarketWatch: Stock Market News - Financial News. He was named one of Crain’s Forty Under Forty and appears regularly on Fox News Channel.Gary HullSpecialties: Philosophy, multiculturalism, business ethics, education.Dr. Hull is director of the Program on Values and Ethics in the Marketplace at Duke University. His op-eds have been published in numerous newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Orange County Register, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Chicago Tribune. He has made numerous television and radio appearances to discuss Ayn Rand’s philosophy, multiculturalism, affirmative action, the Elian Gonzalez affair, sex, ethics, politics. He has lectured on Ayn Rand’s philosophy at conferences around the world and, as a member of the Ayn Rand Institute’s Speakers Bureau, has spoken at universities across the country, including Harvard, Michigan at Ann Arbor, Wisconsin at Madison, Texas at Austin. Dr. Hull is the author of A Study Guide to Leonard Peikoff’s book Objectivism: the Philosophy of Ayn Rand, and is co-editor of The Ayn Rand Reader (Penguin/Plume, 1999), a collection of fiction and non-fiction writings by Ayn Rand.MARTIN F JOHANSENMS, Computer Science, 2009, University of OsloMr. Johansen is a PhD research fellow at SINTEF, the largest independent research institute in Scandinavia. He is currently completing his PhD studies at the University of Oslo as part of an international research project on software testing.Elan JournoBA, Philosophy, 1997, King's College, LondonMr. Journo, director of policy research at ARI, is completing a book on American policy toward the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. His 2009 book, “Winning the Unwinnable War,” analyzes post-9/11 U.S. foreign policy. His writing has appeared in “Foreign Policy,” “Journal of International Security Affairs” and “Middle East Quarterly.”ELLEN KENNERPh.D., Clinical Psychology, 1992, University of Rhode IslandDr. Kenner, a clinical psychologist, has taught university courses in introductory psychology, abnormal psychology and theories of personality. She gives talks on romance, self-improvement, psychological self-defense, parenting and communication skills. She is in her eighth year as host of the nationally syndicated radio talk show The Rational Basis of Happiness®.Ryan KrausePhD, Strategic Management and Organization Theory, 2013, Indiana UniversityDr. Krause is an assistant professor at Texas Christian University’s Neeley School of Business. He researches corporate governance and has published in “Academy of Management Journal,” “Strategic Management Journal” and “Journal of Management.” His research has been covered by the “Wall Street Journal,” “USA Today,” “Businessweek” and Fox Business Network.Andrew LaymanAndrew Layman is a Senior Program Manager at Microsoft where he works on Internet and database technologies. Prior to joining Microsoft in 1992, he was a Vice President of Symantec Corporation and original author of the Time Line project management program.Peter LePort, M.D.Specialties: Medicine, free market reform of healthcare, medical savings accountsDr. LePort, a full-time surgeon, lectures nationwide on free market reform in healthcare, particularly on the benefits of medical savings accounts. He is a member of the board of directors of Americans for Free Choice in Medicine. He co-wrote a healthcare reform proposal that discusses voluntary, tax-free medical savings accounts and high-deductible personal health insurance and which includes a method to privatize Medicare. He earned his medical degree from Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York, and is a former assistant professor of surgery at that institution. He is a member of the Faculty of the American College of Surgeons and of the Orange County Surgical Society.Andrew LewisPostgraduate Diploma of Philosophy, 1994, University of Melbourne, AustraliaMr. Lewis has studied philosophy at the Objectivist Academic Center, the University of Melbourne and the University of Southern California. He worked with Leonard Peikoff on his radio show, has lectured at Objectivist conferences, and is principal at VanDamme Academy, where he teaches a three-year history curriculum covering ancient, European and American history.JOHN LEWIS (deceased)Ph.D., Classics, 2001, University of CambridgeDr. Lewis is assistant professor of history at Ashland University, where he holds an Anthem Fellowship for Objectivist Scholarship. He is Assistant Professor of History in the Department of History and Political Science. He has published in several professional journals, and has been a visiting scholar at Rice University and Bowling Green State UniversityEDWIN A. LOCKEPh.D., Industrial Organizational Psychology, 1964, Cornell University.Dr. Locke is Dean’s Professor of Leadership and Motivation (Emeritus) at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is internationally known for his research and writings on work motivation, leadership and related topics, including the application of Objectivism to psychology and management. He is a senior writer for the Ayn Rand Institute and has published numerous op-eds.Keith LockitchPhD, Physics, 1999, University of Wisconsin at MilwaukeeDr. Lockitch is an ARI fellow and director of advanced training. In addition to speaking and writing for ARI on issues related to energy, climate and environmentalism, he teaches writing for the OAC and has developed courses on Ayn Rand’s ideas and novels for a variety of audiences.ROBERT MAYHEWPh.D., Philosophy, 1991, Georgetown UniversityDr. Mayhew is associate professor of philosophy at Seton Hall University. He is the author of Aristotle’s Criticism of Plato’s Republic and The Female in Aristotle’s Biology and the editor of Ayn Rand’s Marginalia, Ayn Rand’s The Art of Nonfiction, Essays on Ayn Rand’s “We the Living” and (forthcoming) Ayn Rand’s Q & A. He has completed a book on Ayn Rand’s HUAC testimony and is preparing for publication a collection of essays on Ayn Rand’s Anthem.Arline MannArline Mann is an attorney. She is vice president and associate general counsel of Goldman, Sachs & Co.John P. McCaskey, Ph.D. in history, is the founder and chairman of the Anthem Foundation for Objectivist Scholarship. He spent twenty years in the computer business, most recently as founder of Epiphany, Inc., before returning to academia in 2001. He studies and teaches history and philosophy of science at Stanford University.Scott McConnellSpecialties: Volunteerism, Communism in America, Ayn Rand's life. Mr. McConnell is a former literature teacher and high school English teacher. He has a BA in behavioral sciences and worked in Hollywood as a script reader. He has given several lectures on Ayn Rand's life.Shoshana MilgramPhD, Comparative Literature, 1978, Stanford UniversityDr. Milgram, associate professor of English at Virginia Tech, specializes in narrative fiction and film. She has lectured on Ayn Rand at Objectivist and academic conferences and has published on Ayn Rand, Hugo and Dostoevsky. Dr. Milgram is editing the draft of her book-length study of Ayn Rand’s life (to 1957).Ken Moelis. Mr. Moelis is founder and chief executive officer of Moelis & Company, a global investment bank that provides financial advisory, capital raising and asset management services to a broad client base including corporations, institutions and governments. Mr. Moelis has over thirty years of investment banking experience. Prior to founding Moelis & Company, he worked at UBS from 2001 to 2007, where he was most recently president of UBS Investment Bank and, previously, Joint Global Head of Investment Banking. Mr. Moelis serves on the University of Pennsylvania Board of Trustees, the Wharton Board of Overseers, the Board of the Tourette Syndrome Association, and the Board of Governors of Cedars Sinai Hospital.Jean MoroneyCertificate, 1996, Objectivist Graduate Center, Ayn Rand Institute;MS, Psychology, 1994, Carnegie Mellon University;MS, Electrical Engineering, 1986, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMs. Moroney is president of Thinking Directions, a business that develops and teaches methods in applied psycho-epistemology. She has given her flagship course, Thinking Tactics, to corporate and public audiences across North America. She is writing a book titled “Smarter: How to Achieve Your Goals When Nothing Goes as Planned.”Adam Mossoff is Professor of Law at George Mason University School of Law. He is also Co-Director of Academic Programs and a Senior Scholar at the Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property at George Mason, which he co-founded in 2012. He teaches and writes in the areas of patent law, trade secrets, trademark law, property law, and internet law. He has published extensively on the theory and history of how patents and other intellectual property rights are fundamental property rights. His article on the very first patent war, the Sewing Machine War of the 1850s, has been widely cited in today's public policy debates concerning patent litigation, patent licensing, and patent pools. He has testified before the Senate, and he has spoken at numerous congressional staff briefings, professional association conferences, and academic conferences, as well as at the PTO, the FTC, the DOJ, and the Smithsonian Institution. He is Co-Chairman of the Intellectual Property Committee of the IEEE-USA, and he is a member of the Amicus Committee of the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Public Policy Committee of the Licensing Executives Society, and the Academic Advisory Board of the Copyright Alliance. ADAM MOSSOFF is an expert in patent law and property theory. He has published numerous law review articles and book reviews on topics in legal philosophy, patent law, and property law, including in law reviews at the University of Arizona and UC-Hastings, and in the interdisciplinary law journal, the University of Chicago Law School Roundtable. He was a visiting lecturer and John M. Olin Fellow in Law at Northwestern University School of Law, where he taught a seminar on property theory. Immediately prior to coming to MSU College of Law, he clerked for the Hon. Jacques L. Wiener, Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Professor Mossoff graduated from the University of Chicago Law School with honors in 2001. He has a M.A. in philosophy from Columbia University, where he specialized in legal and political philosophy, and a B.A. in philosophy from the University of Michigan, where he graduated magna cum laude and with high honors in philosophy. Hi is now an Associate Professor of Law at George Mason University School of LawSpecialties: Philosophy of Law, Constitutional Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Patent RightsJ. PATRICK MULLINS is a doctoral candidate in the history department of the University of Kentucky. He is in the last stages of writing his doctoral dissertation with the help of a generous grant from the Ayn Rand Institute.Travis NorsenSpecialties: Physics, science, history and philosophy of science, science education.Mr. Norsen is a physics and philosophy double-major at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, CA. He is currently attending his final year of a PhD program in physics at the University of Washington in Seattle. Mr. Norsen is also a former adjunct instructor of physics at DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond, WA.JOHN E. OPFER, who still tops the list of Amazon Reviewers on the CyberNet Scoreboard, is Assistant Professor of Psychology at Ohio State University where he specializes in cognitive and developmental psychology. Nowadays he's too busy reviewing his research findings to review books. His work at OSU's Concepts and Learning Lab explores how young children form and change their concepts, such as concepts of living things and number. His website is at <Department of Psychology - John Opfer> where you will find links to several of his fascinating papers.Michael PaxtonMFA, 1984, New York UniversityMr. Paxton directed the world premiere of Ayn Rand’s Ideal (1989) and adapted and directed a dramatic presentation of Anthem (1991). His documentary, Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life, won an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Satellite Award for Best Feature Documentary. He teaches production design and film history at the Art Institute in Hollywood.Lee PiersonPhD, 1982, Psychology, Cornell UniversityDr. Pierson, director of the Thinking Skills Institute at Fairleigh Dickinson University, teaches students and business professionals how to keep any thought process moving toward its goal by activating the right knowledge as needed. He has a long-standing interest in and recently participated in life-extension research.AMY PEIKOFFJ.D., 1998, University of California, Los Angeles School of Law;Ph.D., Philosophy, 2003, University of Southern CaliforniaDr. Amy Peikoff is an Anthem fellow at the University of Texas at Austin, where she is teaching undergraduate courses in ethics and epistemology. Her writings on legal and philosophical issues have appeared in academic journals and leading newspapers. She has taught for the Objectivist Academic Center and lectured for Objectivist organizations and at conferences. Visiting Fellow at Chapman University’s Law School.Leonard PeikoffPh .D., Philosophy, 1964 New York UniversityFrom 1957 until 1973, Peikoff taught philosophy at Hunter College, Long Island University, New York University, the University of Denver and the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn.After that, he worked full-time on The Ominous Parallels (published 1982) and gave lectures across the country. He gave courses on Ayn Rand's philosophy regularly in New York City, which were taped and played to groups in some 100 cities in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. In addition, he spoke frequently before investment and financial conferences on the philosophic basis of capitalism.Dr. Peikoff, who is a naturalized American citizen, was born in Winnipeg, Canada, in 1933. His father was a surgeon and his mother, before marriage, was a band leader in Western Canada. He has been a contributor to Barron's and an associate editor, with Ayn Rand, of The Objectivist (1968-71) and The Ayn Rand Letter (1971-76).He is author of Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand (Dutton, 1991), the definitive statement of Objectivism.Steve PlafkerJ.D., 1973 USCPh.D., Math, 1966 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOISBS, MATH, MIT, 1961Dr. Plafker is a retired Los Angeles County deputy district attorney. His teaching experience includes teaching law to law students and to undergraduates. Before becoming a lawyer, he taught mathematics at Tulane University. He is a founder and member of the Board of Directors of The Association For Objective Law (TAFOL).Richard RalstonSpecialties: Ayn Rand’s life, Objectivism (General), Projects of the Ayn Rand Institute, Volunteerism, Foreign Policy, Journalism and MediaAfter serving seven years in the U.S. Army, Mr. Ralston completed an M.A. in International Relations at the University of Southern California in 1977. He then began a career in newspaper publishing and direct marketing. He has been the circulation director and publisher of The Christian Science Monitor, a radio producer, a national television news business manager, and a book publisher. As an independent direct marketing consultant, his clients included IBM, British Airways, CNN, and the Los Angeles Times. His book Communism: Its Rise and Fall in the 20th Century was published in 1991. Mr. Ralston is now Managing Director for the Ayn Rand Institute.JOHN RIDPATHPh.D., Economics, 1974, University of VirginiaDr. Ridpath (York University, retired) writes and speaks in defense of capitalism, and on the impact throughout Western history—including the American Founding era—of the ideas of the major philosophers. A recipient of numerous teaching awards, and nominee for Canadian Professor of the Year, he continues to lecture throughout Europe and North America.Jonathan Paul Rosman, MDSpecialties: Medicine, psychiatry.Dr. Rosman is a board certified psychiatrist, with additional qualifications in the subspecialties of addiction psychiatry and forensic psychiatry. Prior to entering full-time private practice in California in 1989 he was an assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. For several years, Dr. Rosman has been a psychiatric consultant to the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California, and is the psychiatric consultant to the Sleep Disorders Center at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, California. He is also medical director for the Eating Disorder Center of California, a private, intensive outpatient clinic in Brentwood, California, devoted to the treatment of patients with anorexia and bulimia.Dr. Rosman is a published writer and lecturer on various aspects of psychiatry. Dr. Rosman's theoretical orientation is broad-based, drawing on and integrating aspects of cognitive-behavioral, short-term psychodynamic and biologic theories with Objectivist epistemological principles. He practices as both a psychotherapist and a psychopharmacologist.GREG SALMIERIB.A., Philosophy, 2001, The College of New JerseyPhD, Philosophy, 2008, University of PittsburghDr. Salmieri is a philosophy fellow at the Anthem Foundation and co-secretary of the Ayn Rand Society (a professional group affiliated with the American Philosophical Association). He teaches at Rutgers University. He has published and lectured on Aristotle and Ayn Rand and is co-editor of forthcoming books on both thinkers.Richard M. SalsmanSpecialties: Banking, free market economics, economic forecasting, capitalism, investmentsRichard M. Salsman is president and chief market strategist of InterMarket Forecasting, which provides quantitative research and forecasts of stocks, bonds, and currencies to guide the asset allocation decisions of institutional investment managers, mutual funds, and pension plans. He is the author of numerous books and articles on economics, banking, and forecasting from a free-market perspective, including Breaking the Banks: Central Banking Problems and Free Banking Solutions (American Institute for Economic Research, 1990) and Gold and Liberty (American Institute for Economic Research, 1995). Mr. Salsman’s work has appeared in The Intellectual Activist, the New York Times, Investor’s Business Daily, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Barron’s. From 1993 to 1999, he was a senior vice president and senior economist at H. C. Wainwright & Co. Economics. Prior to that he was a banker at Citibank and the Bank of New York. Mr. Salsman is an adjunct fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research and the founder of The Association of Objectivist Businessmen.Lee Sandstead received his B.A. Philosophy/B.S. Mass Communication from Middle Tennessee State University in December 1996, when he was awarded the prestigious award for “Outstanding Magazine Journalism Graduate.” He has studied art history at the University of Memphis’ graduate program, and most recently, the art history doctoral program at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York City. He is a popular writer/photographer/lecturer of art-historical subjects. He has delivered almost 50 keynote lecture-addresses to such prestigious institutions as: Yale, Duke, University of Michigan, Penn State, NYU and the Academy of Realist Art in Toronto. Articles of his have been published in numerous journals, and his photography has been seen in publications such as: The New York Times, Fortune, and Ms. Magazine. He currently teaches art history at Montclair State University and is author of the forthcoming book on American master-sculptor Evelyn Beatrice Longman (1874-1954DINA SCHEIN FEDERMAN (deceased) is completing her article on "Integrity in The Fountainhead_" for ROBERT MAYHEW's upcoming collection of essays. She will also be delivering two lectures at the European Objectivist conference in London this month. Her writing projects include severalarticles on Virtue Ethics, a movement in academic ethics.DANIEL SCHWARTZBA, Liberal Arts, 2006, St. John’s CollegeMr. Schwartz is a doctoral candidate in philosophy at UC San Diego, where he is working on a dissertation titled “Baconian Foundationalism and the Problem of Certainty.” He specializes in early modern philosophy and the history of the philosophy of science.PETER SCHWARTZM.A., Journalism, 1972, Syracuse UniversityPeter Schwartz is the founding editor and publisher of The Intellectual Activist. He is the editor and contributing author of Ayn Rand’s Return of the Primitive: The Anti-Industrial Revolution, and is chairman of the board of directors of the Ayn Rand Institute.Thomas ShoebothamMM, Orchestral Conducting, 1996, University of New MexicoMM, Cello Performance, 1992, Eastman School of MusicMr. Shoebotham is music director of the Palo Alto Philharmonic. Previous conducting engagements have included Berkeley Opera, Opera San José, Peninsula Symphony Orchestra and many other groups. He has lectured on music, taught in school music programs and performed numerous recitals as a cellist and pianist over the last twenty years.Stephen SiekPhD, Musicology, 1991, University of CincinnatiDr. Siek, professor emeritus at Wittenberg University, has recently publishedEngland’s Piano Sage: The Life and Teachings of Tobias Matthay. For many years he has lectured and written about the early work of Frank Lloyd Wright, including a scholarly study of Wright’s 1909 home for Burton Westcott in Springfield, Ohio.BRIAN P. SIMPSONPhD, Economics, 2000, George Mason UniversityDr. Simpson is a professor at National University in San Diego. He is author of the book Markets Don’t Fail! and he has a number of papers published in academic journals. He is currently working on another book titled “Money, Banking, and the Business Cycle,” which he hopes to publish soon.Steve SimpsonJD, 1994, New York Law SchoolMr. Simpson is director of legal studies at the Ayn Rand Institute. A former constitutional lawyer for the Institute for Justice, he writes and speaks on a wide variety of legal and constitutional issues, including free speech and campaign finance law, cronyism and government corruption, and the rule of law.Aaron SmithPhD, Philosophy, 2010, Johns Hopkins UniversityDr. Smith is an instructor at the Ayn Rand Institute where he teaches in the Objectivist Academic Center and the Summer Internship program. He lectures for ARI and develops educational content for the Institute’s e-learning programs.Tara SmithPhD, Philosophy, 1989, Johns Hopkins UniversityDr. Smith, professor of philosophy at the University of Texas, holds the BB&T Chair for the Study of Objectivism and the Anthem Foundation Fellowship. She has published books on values, virtues, and individual rights. Her latest, “Judicial Review in an Objective Legal System,” is forthcoming in fall 2015 (Cambridge University Press).MARY ANN SURESM.A., Art History, 1966, Hunter College, New YorkMary Ann Sures taught art history at Washington Square College of N.Y.U. and at Hunter College. She applied Objectivist esthetics to painting and sculpture in a ten-lecture course, “Esthetics of the Visual Arts,” which was written in consultation with Ayn Rand. Her philosophical approach to art history is presented in “Metaphysics in Marble” (The Objectivist, February/March, 1969). She is co-author with her (late) husband Charles of Facets of Ayn Rand (published by the Ayn Rand Institute), memoirs of their longtime friendship with Ayn Rand and her husband Frank O’Connor.C. BRADLEY THOMPSONPh.D., History, 1993, Brown UniversityC. Bradley Thompson is the BB&T Research Professor at Clemson University and the Executive Director of the Clemson Institute for the Study of Capitalism. He has also been a visiting fellow at Princeton and Harvard universities and at the University of London.Professor Thompson is the author of Neoconservatism: An Obituary for an Idea and the prize-winning book John Adams and the Spirit of Liberty. He has also edited The Revolutionary Writings of John Adams, Antislavery Political Writings, 1833-1860: A Reader, co-edited Freedom and School Choice in American Education, and was an associate editor of the four-volume Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment. His current book project is on the ideological origins of American constitutionalism.Dr. Thompson is also an occasional writer for The Times Literary Supplement of London. He has lectured around the country on education reform and the American Revolution, and his op-ed essays have appeared in scores of newspapers around the country and abroad. Dr. Thompson's lectures on the political thought of John Adams have twice appeared on C-SPAN television.LISA VANDAMMEB.A., Philosophy, 1994, University of Texas at AustinLisa VanDamme is the owner and director of VanDamme Academy, a private elementary and junior high school in Laguna Hills, California. She specializes in the application of Objectivism to educational theory. Her previous lectures on homeschooling, hierarchy and the teaching of values will be included in a forthcoming education anthology featuring Leonard Peikoff’s “Philosophy of Education.”Don WatkinsBA, Business Administration, 2005, Strayer UniversityMr. Watkins is a fellow at the Ayn Rand Institute. He is the author of “RooseveltCare: How Social Security Is Sabotaging the Land of Self-Reliance” and coauthor, along with Yaron Brook, of the national best-seller “Free Market Revolution: How Ayn Rand’s Ideas Can End Big Government.”KEITH WEINERPh.D., Economics, 2012, New Austrian School of Economics (non-accredited)Dr. Weiner is the founder and CEO of Monetary Metals, a company on a mission to pay interest on gold, and the president of the Gold Standard Institute USA.He makes the economic arguments, as well as the moral, for a free market in money and credit. There has never been an unadulterated gold standard in history, as all governments (including the U.S.) have regulated and interfered with banking, even when other enterprises were unshackled. Today our monetary system is failing, and Keith describes the mechanics in detail, why making the passionate case for gold as the money of free markets.He is also the founder of DiamondWare, a software company sold to Nortel in 2008.Glenn WoiceshynSpecialties: Education, ethics, environmentalism, science, politics.Mr. Woiceshyn is currently developing curriculum and teaching materials for grades 4 to 6 based on his understanding of Objectivism and his experience in "homeschooling" his son and other children. As a freelance writer, Mr. Woiceshyn's op-eds have appeared in numerous newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, Houston Chronicle, Philadelphia Inquirer, Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald.JAANA WOICESHYNM.B.A., 1983, Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration; Ph.D., Organization and Strategy, 1988, University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School)Dr. Woiceshyn is an associate professor at the Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary. She has taught business ethics and strategic management to undergraduate, MBA and executive MBA students and to various business audiences since 1987.BARRY WOODPh.D., History of Art and Architecture, 2002, Harvard UniversityDr. Wood is curator of the Islamic Gallery Project at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. He has lectured and published on subjects ranging from Persian poetry to Web design.Darryl WrightSpecialties: Ethics, political philosophy, ObjectivismDarryl Wright is associate professor of philosophy at Harvey Mudd College, a member of the Claremont Colleges consortium. He received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Michigan in 1991, and his A.B. in philosophy from Princeton University in 1985. Dr. Wright has published scholarly articles and/or lectured on the history of ethics, early twentieth-century philosophy, value theory, coercion, and other topics in philosophy.

Long story short: if I could go back, I definitely would’ve picked something else.(I went with a major in International Relations and Politics.)Firstly, some context.I attended university as an international student in a country wherein higher level education was among the top 5 export. As almost every international student knows, you are a large and viable source of income for the university. You might as well have the words ‘cash cow’ next to your enrolment status in the administrator’s eyes.(The sooner you realise you aren’t going receive fair or equal financial support from your university compared to domestic students, the better off you’ll be.)I didn’t quite know what career path I wanted to pursue after high school. I was, however, very clear on what I didn’t want to do (and this was a long list). Looking back, this was my first regret.University is not just a place for learning the things you want - it’s also a good place to learn the skills you’ll likely need, for after you graduate and need to get a job to pay your own bills.Anyhow. I didn’t want to do, among other things, anything related to mathematics. Or Chemistry. Or Physics. Or the sciences, in general. So a Bachelor of Science was out of the question. This I would later come to (partially) regret.I didn’t love working with numbers, even though I was fairly capable at it, so I ruled out Accounting and Commerce without realising that you can get by fairly well without having to be a genius with numbers (which, again, I clearly wasn’t). This I would later also come to regret.I hated the idea of having to work through thing logically, despite being fairly logical in my everyday life (if I do say so myself). So I took coding and Computer Science off the list - although I did try a Foundations coding class in my first year of university. After saying ‘never again’, I and my stubborn streak am currently teaching myself how to code again. I have no regrets about not pursuing a Computer Science degree - I’m certainly not cut out for it full-time, but I can’t deny the value of learning a useful and widely applicable skill.I wanted a social life in university (and thereafter), and had heard from those who had gone before me that I wasn’t going to find it in a Law or Medicine degree. This I have no regrets about.Money was a big priority - both saving, and earning potential in the future. Plus I wasn’t extraordinarily talented with any artistic mediums, and had no relatives or close friends in the industry. So Fine Arts remained a fantastical dream and an avid side hobby. Perhaps I should’ve taken it more seriously as I spent more of my degree dancing over studying.So that left me with the Arts. I had worked hard in high school, consistently attained competitive grades in the humanities, and had History teachers whose lessons inspired, challenged, and frequently kicked my ass. Somehow that translated into a desire to pursue International Relations (having studied global history), without any real idea of what it entailed. So that was the story of how my Bachelor of Arts began: through the process of elimination.Growing up, I vacillated between wanting to be a dancer and a writer after a childhood spent reading long after the lights were out, by the dim light of my phone. Like Andrew T. Post (whose candid writing I greatly admire), I wanted to be a journalist before starting university. Unlike him, my chosen university didn’t have a journalism degree. And perhaps more truthfully, at some point I had convinced myself I wasn’t a good enough writer. Instead of tackling potential failure head on, I chose to focus on being good at the things I was expected to do, instead of the things I wanted to do. This became a repeated conundrum, and would later become its own regret.To do what you can, or what you want?I was gifted with the ability to cram, a fairly above-average medium-term memory, and ability to follow instructions when required. I was relatively competitive, and had excellent support and positive reinforcement from family, peers and teachers. The end result was that I became rather good at excelling for the sake of excelling, without any meaningful purpose or direction.This, I promise, is relevant to the question at hand.So how did that affect my choice of major? I ended up going down the path of least resistance, so to speak.I had a wonderful counsellor in high school, and had the privilege of seeing first hand what (part of) her job entailed. Bolstered by the positive experience during my formative years, I was convinced I would pursue occupational therapy or counselling as a career later on. But this required a psychology degree, something that fell under the Bachelor of Science at my prospective university. See point above regarding the sciences…So at this point, having been very good at doing things in which I would likely do well at, I stuck to my guns and chose International Relations (IR). (Bonus: the major had the term ‘and Politics’ tacked onto the end so that it sounded like I was doing a double major).I chose IR without a real idea of what it was, what job prospects it would yield, what career it would lead to, what the other prerequisites for IR-related careers would be.This last one would turn out more important than a floating raft to a drowning man.For those wondering, IR lends itself well for those hoping to pursue an academic research on, well, international relations. This can be anything from trade relations to regional international diplomacy and anything in between. It doesn’t, however, teach you a whole lot about public policymaking or domestic politics (unless, of course, your course has ‘Politics’ tacked onto it. Mine did.)The other issue was, I was an international student without a permanent residence (PR) in my new “home” country. I intended to stay and find a job in public service, the other career option for IR graduates.What I didn’t realise was, most public service jobs required:Minimum: PR or citizenshipA Masters degreeI didn’t have either.I realised this too late into the degree, naively thinking that I’d somehow be sponsored before my 3 years were over (and conveniently forgetting that for a country with over 700,000 international students, I was in for some fierce competition).The other by-product of being an international student, aside from being marked as ‘un-hireable’ for many permanent full time jobs, was the exorbitant fees paid upfront. (And now, as many are realising, a lack of financial support from the government.)My Bachelor of Art was a hefty investment from my parents, one I wasn’t inclined to ask them to repeat with a Master’s degree costing almost double.There was little that I learnt, academically, that I couldn’t have obtained from textbooks, the internet, and high school. I’m astounded that I paid over $30,000 a year for the knowledge.Part of it was my own doing. I joined many extracurriculars, went to classes, engaged with the teaching staff and made many friends. But I never wanted to be a researcher, an academic dealing in theories of all sorts.By second year I was sick to death of research.More importantly, I was sick of Foucaudian theories and underpaid passionless tutors and half baked syllabuses and one-line feedback. I wanted to do something with my hands, be part of visible and immediate change, affect people’s lives directly.I wanted all this, and then picked a major that leaned heavily towards academic research.Talk about being young and dumb.(The remaining career prospects for IR either required PR/citizenship, or were jobs you could do without an IR degree specifically.)My biggest takeaways from my university experience is as follows:Pick a degree that will give you some specific, technical, marketable hard skills. Soft skills you can learn yourself, a BA isn’t necessary for that. Look at the global skillsets with rising demand, or at skillsets with consistent and ubiquitous demand. Coding, accounting (you’ll need to do taxes at some point, and so will everyone else), graphic design, marketing, opera singing, you name it. If you’re not going to major in it, at least minor in it, or take a few subjects and actually learn those skills (instead of falling asleep for 3/4 of every coding lecture like yours truly).Have the bloody courage and discipline to practice what you truly want, no matter how hard it seems. As one of my favourite dancers said: “You have to make your purpose bigger than your fears”. If I’d had my shit together, I would’ve gone for a Psychology degree, toughed out the scienc-y part, and done the Master’s needed to become a counsellor. I would have spent more time practising my writing skills - which is partially why I’m writing this today. I would’ve paid for dance classes, gotten very good at a particular genre (or two), and become a dance teacher.Improvise. I realised in my second year that I needed a marketable skill, fast. Critical thinking, problem solving and excellent communication skills are simply empty words on a cover letter, and are skills that require demonstration and experience over time. I managed to shuffle my subjects around (and had planned ahead for enough flexibility from the start) to take a few digital marketing/journalism subjects and get a minor in Media and Communications. While still an Arts subject, this one gave me some halfway decent content creation and writing skills. Thank goodness.Check the career prospects and job prerequisites for your major. For the love of suede soles, this should’ve been at the top of the list. If you’re 1) ambitious 2) have the talent 3) have the financial means/support to study near California 4) hope to graduate in Comp Sci, you’ve got a decent chance at being sponsored for a visa and subsequently decent career prospects (happened with a friend I knew). If you’re a middling singer who can’t afford to invest in voice lessons, and plan on a Fine Arts degree in a city of a thousand singers, reconsider your approach. This doesn’t mean don’t sing ever, but perhaps make it a side gig and learn a hard marketable skill as backup.On that note, don’t pass up on vocational courses/degrees. This was my biggest regret. There are many excellent job prospects from vocational careers: electricians, plumbers, woodworkers, chefs etc. University is often seen as a default these days, wrongly so. If you want to do a university-related course, great! But if not, don’t do one for the sake of having an expensive piece of paper. It might open the doors to some jobs afterwards, but chances are they’ll be jobs you aren’t interested in the first place.For the things you want to learn more about, learn away. Just don’t pay an exorbitant amount for it! Many universities have open lectures and the schedule is public to everyone, including non-enrolled students. Use your free periods to go to those lectures; take advantage of university roundtable discussions, guest speakers, and free journal/library/database memberships. Your degree is not the sum of all you learn at university, but it is the first thing employers will see on your resume. So pick a marketable major, but don’t cease to learn the things you’re interested in. I’ve sat in on philosophy, organic chemistry, Islamic studies, mechanical engineering, agriculture lectures - once even a quantum physics lecture by accident - and I’ve picked up a fair bit of random knowledge from them. Now if I’d stuck with one subject each semester and “overloaded” by attending lectures weekly, I’d have gained 25% more knowledge and 20% more friends from commiserating with fellow lecture attendees.But it’s not all regrets.I’ve learnt a fair bit from all the non-IR subjects I’ve taken (those Marketing and Communication subjects came in handy!) I’m trying to practice my writing skills daily. I’m looking into certificates and self-taught programs for a range of other technical skills (digital marketing, coding). I’m constantly finding new places and people I can learn from. In this day and age where the internet reigns supreme, there’s no shortage of information.(Learning how to sift through it is another skill of its own.)Your university degree does not define your career path.Sure, it plays a pretty important role. But what you do with your degree is more important. Today, the average person changes their career more than 7 times over the course of their life. It is something I constantly have to remind myself of when I get locked into the narrative that:I’ve chosen the wrong degree. I won’t ever get a steady permanent job. I won’t ever be financially independent and be able to afford the things I want. I’ll never be successful. I’ll get stuck in a dead-end job and hate my life. And that’ll be it forevermore.It’s not true.It takes me a bit more self-encouragement on some days to dislodge that toxic narrative, but it isn’t true. Not for me, and neither for you.