James Dunn: Invested in the Next Generation
This story written by C. Mark Batten was originally posted on the School of Divinity website.
Wake Forest Divinity School professor Rev. Dr. James Dunn.
James Dunn, who was a champion of religious liberty and the separation of church and state, passed away on July 4 at the age of 83. For Wake Forest University School of Divinity, Dunn was a teacher and mentor with an inspirational ingenuity and comedic wit.
Dunn served as resident professor of Christianity and public policy from 1999 until his retirement in 2014. He taught courses on Christian Ethics and electives on the Church and State in America, Christianity and Public Policy, and God and the New York Times.
Many of Dunn’s courses involved travel to Washington, D.C., giving Divinity students the opportunity to meet with national, political religious leaders, many with whom Dunn had developed lasting relationships when he served as executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (1981-1999). These courses have given lasting memories to students of James Dunn and the role of religion in the public sphere.
Categories: Faculty News
Dunn named to top 100 list
Chief Investment Officer Jim Dunn has been named to aiCIO’s 2013 Power 100 List. This is the second year that aiCIO, an international finance magazine, has published its list of the 100 most influential asset owners. Dunn is one of only 10 endowment managers to make the list.
The list appeared in the magazine’s October issue.
To compile the list, the magazine looks at positive trends in the industry, specifically risk-factor approaches, infrastructure investments and novel advances in risk management. The aiCIO team interviews industry professionals for their thoughts on these questions: Who are the CIOs leading the charge in these areas? Who is taking the risks that other, more timid CIOs, refuse to?
“Because we’re benchmark agnostic and use a factor-based asset allocation model, we don’t have traditional asset class ‘buckets’ to fill,” Dunn said. “We are able to be creative and opportunistic in our investment choices.”
Dunn also made aiCIO’s Power List in 2012.
Categories: Staff News
Dunn, Rogers to lead lecture series in Statesville
Dr. James M. Dunn and Melissa Rogers, professors with the School of Divinity, are the 2012 lecturers for the Davis Lectures Series in Statesville, N.C., on Oct. 28-30 at Grace Baptist Church. The topic will be “Confronting Church-State Controversies: Conversations about Faith and Freedom in the 21st Century.”
The lectures are free and open to the public. Read more [PDF] »
Categories: Faculty News
Thursdays at Byrum Hall
The Interim Provost and the Undergraduate Admissions Office invite faculty and staff to Thursdays at Porter B. Byrum Hall (the Welcome and Admissions Center) on April 26.
A wine and cheese reception will run from 4-4:30 p.m., followed by a program from 4:30-5:15 p.m. that will feature Ajay Patel, Tanya Marsh and Jim Dunn.
Patel, professor and GMAC Chair in Finance at the Schools of Business and the director of the Center for Enterprise Research and Education (CERE), will share initial findings on CERE’s research in Nicaragua.
Nicaragua is the poorest country in Central America, with an economy hobbled by international debt, rickety legal and governmental systems and vast unemployment. Yet at the broad bottom of the economic pyramid, where almost 80 percent live on two dollars a day or less, and just above it, entrepreneurial activity is active, determined and resourceful.
There are many in the national and international domains who would like to see the micro and small enterprises that are percolating in Nicaragua become engines of economic and social change. Wake Forest, which annually sends teams of students from the College, and the Schools of Business, Law, Medicine and Divinity to Nicaragua on educational and service missions, is just one of many groups of students, faculty, companies, NGOs, not-for-profit organizations, and governments who seek to help.
But, what is helpful? What is needed? What actions foster sustainable growth and change?
CERE set out three years ago to answer these questions though research partnerships in Nicaragua. Faculty associated with CERE crafted and launched part one of a two-part survey that offers interdisciplinary assessments of micro-to-medium sized enterprises. The goals of the longitudinal study are to (1) create a tool that describes the landscape of entrepreneurship at a relatively granular level, and identifies factors that inhibit or promote success, (2) assist in the development of training programs that are effective and culturally appropriate, and (3) train-the-trainers in Nicaragua to ensure that the program is sustainable.
Today at Thursday’s at Byrum, Patel will present findings on:
• the role of gender and education on the career motivations of the entrepreneur in Nicaragua
• access to and use of training and microcredit
• the performance of Nicaragua businesses
• information on why well-intentioned business training programs often miss the mark
Other presentations at Thursdays at Byrum
Marsh, an assistant professor of law, will discuss the tensions between commercialism, regulation, religious belief, and individual choice in the modern American cemetery.
Dunn, chief investment officer, will discuss the Wake Forest Office of Investments.
Categories: Events
Dunn featured in aiCIO magazine
Jim Dunn, the chief investment officer of Wake Forest’s $1.5 billion endowment, was recently featured in CIO Profile — a weekly snapshot at aiCIO magazine of institutional investing heads globally.
From the profile: Dunn’s lightheartedness and passion for his work at Wake Forest’s endowment — which achieved 1.77% year-end returns 3% over the benchmark, and 3-year returns of 8.73% — is evident through every phone conversation, email, and in-person exchange we’ve had. In other words, he loves his work and doesn’t take himself too seriously.
Categories: Staff News
