Lake Institute Distinguished Visitor | The Lake Institute on Faith & Giving

News & Media | FAQ | Contact Us

Center Overview 20th Anniversary Celebration Annual Report Board of Visitors Director's Monthly Letter Media Contact Open Positions Senior Staff Staff Directory Strategic Plan

Academic Programs Millennium Philanthropic Services Research The Fund Raising School The Lake Institute Women's Philanthropy Institute

Giving Opportunities Donate Online Gift Form

Events Alumni Association Subscribe to E-Newsletter Link to IU Alumni Associations

Lake Institute

Welcome

About the Institute

Programs

Offerings

Research

Suggested Reading, Resources

Books

Event Calendar

Contact Us

The Lake Distinguished Visitor Program

Distinguished Visitors are esteemed practitioners from across the country invited to Indianapolis each year to engage in dialogue with community regarding issues of faith and giving.

Eboo Patel – October 21-22, 2008

Dr. Eboo Patel, founder and Executive Director of the Interfaith Youth Core

Ruth Messinger – May 18-20, 2008

Click here for pictures from the event

Ruth Messinger, President of the American Jewish World Service, spoke to four audiences during her visit to Indianapolis – young Jewish professionals interested in hands-on volunteerism; clergy and lay leaders from Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faith traditions; executive and civic figures; and prominent central Indiana Jewish community leaders – about her organization's humanitarian aid work. She highlighted AJWS's work across faith barriers, the need for continued attention on Darfur – the only genocide to be recognized as such by our government while still occurring – and the increasing pressures high food prices and natural disasters are placing on the world’s most underserved communities. Her organization, a non-traditional Jewish agency serving non-Jews, emphasizes support for existing indigenous grassroots social change organizations around the world. Ms. Messinger believes that the tools to fix humanity's greatest needs already exist, though they remain to be implemented, and all of AJWS’s work is informed by the Jewish principle of Tikkun Olam which calls on the faithful to help repair a broken world.

Prior to assuming the role of AJWS President in 1998, Ms. Messinger was in public service in New York City for 20 years. In honor of her tireless work to end the genocide in Darfur, Sudan, Ms. Messinger received an award from the Jewish Council for Public Affairs in February 2006. She has also been awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Hebrew Union College in 2005, and an honorary Doctor of Letters, Honoris Causa, from Hebrew College in June 2007. For the past seven years, she has been named one of the 50 most influential Jews of the year by the Forward.

Ms. Messinger's visit also included an interview on WFYI Public Radio's Sound Medicine. The interview has been scheduled to air on Sunday, July 13 and will be available the next day on Sound Medicine's website as a podcast.

Tom Cousins and Dr. Charles Knapp – June 2007

On June 20, 2007, the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving hosted Tom Cousins, developer and philanthropist from Atlanta, Georgia, and Charles B. Knapp, President Emeritus of the University of Georgia and Chairman of the East Lake Foundation. Their organization helped Atlanta’s East Lake neighborhood, which was once known for a crime rate 18 times the national average, develop into a thriving community that now boasts a celebrated charter school, a 95% decrease in violent crimes, and a remarkable increase in employment and income among its residents. Its golf course has been named the final stop on the PGA Tour, and the benefits of the revitalization continue to expand.

Mr. Cousins, whose dream is to see East Lake’s success spread to every major city in the United States, shared the story which led to that neighborhood’s sensational turn-around. Discussing his early attempts and failures at urban revitalization, and the public cynicism he faced when he set his sights on East Lake, to the eventual realization of his vision, Mr. Cousins expressed confidence that the transformation that occurred in Atlanta could certainly happen in Indianapolis.

The Lake Distinguished Visitor event included a morning seminar with representatives of local faith-based organizations, an afternoon seminar with neighborhood and community development organizations, and a luncheon with community leaders which included remarks from the Mayor of Indianapolis. To see photographs from the luncheon, please click here.

The following video is from CNBC. It tells that story of Tom Cousins and his East Lake project.

To obtain a copy of this video, please contact the Executive Director of the East Lake Foundation:

Carol Naughton
East Lake Foundation
2606 Alston Drive
Atlanta, GA 30317
404-373-4351 x. 14
cnaughton@eastlakefoundation.org
http://www.eastlakefoundation.org

Talat Othman and Scott Alexander – November 2006

"Islamic Philanthropy in a New World Setting"

Talat M. Othman is President of Grove Financial, Inc., an international investment management firm located in Long Grove, Illinois, specializing in managing investment funds and U.S.-Middle East business. Mr. Othman is also Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Amana Mutual Funds, Bellingham, Washington and President of Crescent Capital Management, LLC. Chicago, Illinois. From 1983 to 1995, he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dearborn Financial Inc., Arlington Heights, Illinois. From 1978 to 1983, Mr. Othman was General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of the Saudi Arab Finance Corporation, Luxembourg, and General Manager of the Saudi Investment Group, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. From 1956 to 1977, Mr. Othman was associated with the Harris Trust and Savings Bank in Chicago, Illinois, as Vice President and Division Administrator of the International Money Management Division, including the International Economic Research Unit. Currently, he serves on the Board of Governors of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Chairman of the Board of Directors of ALSAC, the hospital’s fund-raising arm. Additionally, he served on the boards of Trustees for the Illinois State Universities Retirement System and the Illinois State Finance Authority.

Scott Alexander’s interest in Islam dates back to the early 1980s, when he was both witnessing the events of the Islamist revolution in Iran, and concentrating in comparative religion as an undergraduate at Harvard. After graduating from Harvard, Scott went on to Columbia University in New York where he earned the M.A. and Ph.D. in the history of religions, with a concentration in Islamic studies. From 1986 to 1990, Scott taught courses on Islam and the history of religions at Columbia, Fordham, and Princeton University, and in 1991 he took a position on the religious studies faculty of Indiana University in Bloomington where he taught as an assistant professor of Islamic studies from 1993 to 2000. He is currently Associate Professor of Islam at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where he is also director of the school’s Catholic-Muslim Studies Program.

Dr. Theodore Malloch and Dr. Scott Massey – October 2006

Dr. Theodore Roosevelt Malloch is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Roosevelt Group, a leading strategic management and thought leadership company. In 1994, he co-founded and has since directed the CEO Learning Partnership™ for PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P. A former Senior Fellow of The Aspen Institute, Dr. Malloch has also served as President of the World Economic Development Congress and on the executive board of the World Economic Forum. He held an ambassadorial-level position in the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland (1989-1991); headed consulting at Wharton-Chase Econometrics; has worked in international capital markets at Salomon Brothers, Inc.; and served in senior policy positions at the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and in the U.S. State Department. He earned his Ph.D. in international political economy from the University of Toronto. He is the author of six books, including Trade and Development Policy (1989), and along with Don Norris, Unleashing the Power of Perpetual Learning (1998), The Global Century (2001), and The Renewal of American Culture and the Pursuit of Happiness, (co-authored with Scott Masser). He serves on nine boards, including mutual funds, public companies, universities, and not-for-profits., as well as Chairman of the newly formed, Spiritual Enterprise Institute, funded by the John Templeton Foundation.

Dr. Scott Massey, President and CEO of the Indiana Humanities Council, is an educational leader, innovator, and community development consultant with nearly 20 years of experience as a non-profit CEO. Dr. Massey has designed leadership programs; developed community-wide partnerships linking educational and cultural assets; developed and trademarked community assessment instruments; conceived and trademarked learning technologies; developed K - 12 educational programs; conceived and trademarked philanthropy programs; consulted on non-profit and philanthropic issues; produced conferences, symposia, and cultural festivals; produced educational publications; and designed teacher professional development courses. As our “Lake Distinguished Visitors” Malloch and Massey will give a public lecture on Thursday evening and do a private event with scholars on the campus of IUPUI Friday morning.

Joseph C. Cook – October 2005

With 28 years of management experience at Eli Lilly and Company, five years as chairmen and CEO of Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in San Diego, CA and three years as founder and CEO of Mountain Group Capital, LLC in Nashville, TN, Joe's knowledge and experience were invaluable. Moreover, Joe is a man of deep faith, and his integration of philanthropy and faith matched well with the Lake Family Institute's work. His visit included giving the keynote address at the Economic Club of Indianapolis where he spoke to a crowd of 1,000 business men and women. In addition, he taught a capstone course with Phil Cochran for the MBA program at Indiana University. He spoke at a breakfast for young business entrepreneurs to discuss the values of faith, giving and civic responsibility. And at a lunch, people with family foundations gathered to learn how Joe's family foundation is committed to funding a variety of religious programs and missions. Throughout his presentations, Joe underscored the point that the philanthropic decisions we make today affect our tomorrow. To quote Joe, "caskets have no luggage racks." Furthermore, philanthropy is not just about giving money but about carrying for the people around you.

Dr. Mark Chaves – February 2005

Mark Alan Chaves, Ph.D., is Professor and Head of the Department of Sociology at the University of Arizona. His education includes an M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School, an A.M. in Sociology from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in Sociology from Harvard University. His most recent publication is Congregations in America in 2004 through Harvard University Press.