The Liberty Papers

I have a lot of respect for BB&T. After the Kelo decision they took a firm stance in favor of private property rights when they made it a bank policy not to lend money to any developers that used the practice of eminent domain for private development.

BB&T is taking another step in promoting capitalism:

Winston-Salem-based BB&T’s philanthropic organization, BB&T Charitable Foundation, recently made the $1 million donation to UNC-Greensboro to establish the BB&T Program in Capitalism, Markets and Morality. The program also will create the Ayn Rand Reading Room in the school’s library. The room will include fiction and nonfiction works by Rand, who was an economic freedom advocate, and other authors.

BB&T Chairman and Executive Officer John Allison IV said the grant would help to promote students’ understanding of concepts outside the technical framework of businesses. “Unfortunately, we find that many students who graduate with business degrees while understanding the ‘technology’ of business, do not have a clear grasp of the moral principles underlying free markets,” Allison said.

The gift will fund an undergraduate course on markets and morality and a separate course for graduate students. It will also provide faculty grants for curriculum development to increase students’ knowledge of capitalism and moral foundations in the economic principle.

Also included in the gift is the creation of the BB&T Distinguished Lecture Series in Capitalism, which will promote discussions on business ethics and values. Dr. Bruce Caldwell, a professor of economics at UNC-Greensboro and editor of The Collected Works of F.A. Hayek, will be among the various presenters during the lecture series.

Hat tip to the Libertarian Party blog.