Leading corporate governance experts in the world, including corporate directors, shareholder advocates, educators, journalists, lawyers and jurists, visited the campus this fall to meet with students and faculty as part of the inaugural discussion series sponsored by the University of Delaware Corporate Governance Center. The series came to a close Nov. 9, and a second series is scheduled in the spring, according to Charles Elson, Edgar S. Woolard Jr. Chair in Corporate Governance and center director.

"The first series was very well-received, both by the corporate governance experts who participated and also by the students, faculty and interested members of the community who attended," Elson said.

"The dialog was first-rate and I look forward to the second series during the spring semester," he added.

The series was held in conjunction with an Elson course on corporate governance in the College of Business and Economics, and consistently drew audiences of 40-50 to the J.P. Morgan Lecture Room in MBNA America Hall.

The series featured lively discussions on topics relating to corporate governance, with the first two focusing on the question of who owns the corporation, stakeholders or stockholders. The question prompted one panelist to suggest, "It's the shareholders, stupid."

Other sessions considered executive overcompensation, the duty of care, corporate democracy and the shareholder, prevention of corporate fraud, financial misconduct, corporate governance guidelines and the responsibility and accountability of managers and directors.

Among those particpants were Woolard, namesake of the chair Elson holds and the former chairman and chief executive officer of the DuPont Co.; Ray Troubh, a financial consultant who sits on the boards of 11 public companies; John M. Nash, founder of the National Association of Corporate Directors; Margaret Blair of the Brookings Institution; GM attorney Warren Anderson; Scott Fenn of the Investor Responsibility Research Center; and Ned Regan, president of Baruch College.

Journalists included Adam Bryant of Newsweek; James Christie of Directors and Boards; Joanne Lublin of the Wall Street Journal; Daniel Bogler of the Financial Times; Allen R. Myerson of The New York Times; and John A. Byrne of Business Week.

Regular panelists included members of the Delaware Court of Chancery, which Elson described as "the most significant corporate court in America and some would say in the world," and the Delaware Supreme Court.

The Corporate Governance Center was established to consider models for the structure of corporate management and direction, an important concern in a state in which about one-half of all Fortune 500 and New York Stock Exchange firms are incorporated.

Elson, who left the Stetson College of Law in St. Petersburg, Fla., to accept the Woolard Chair, said key issues before the center include director compensation, director independence, corporate philanthropy and institutional investor activism.

For information about the center or the series, call 831-6157.

–Neil Thomas