Gift will help form program

Scholars to study moral foundations of free enterprise

WINCHESTER — Shenandoah University will create a Free Markets Scholars program in conjunction with BB&T Corp.

BB&T’s recent $150,000 donation will support a student scholarship program and a public education program on the moral foundations of capitalism, according to the university.

The contribution, to be paid in annual installments of $37,500 over the next four years, will allow SU to offer scholarships to 10 students per academic year. Student selection will be based on financial need, academic record, a strong work ethic and interest in capitalism.

Students will take a course on the moral foundations of free enterprise, featuring Ayn Rand’s 1957 book “Atlas Shrugged.” The course, to be taught by Clifford F. Thies, the Eldon R. Lindsay Chair of Free Enterprise in SU’s Harry F. Byrd Jr. School of Business, will be open to any interested students.

“In recent years, in economics, management science, political science and related disciplines, we have begun to explore the dynamics of interpersonal relationships,” Thies says in a press release. “I hope to imbue the course with the passion of Ayn Rand, through some of her dramatic works, so we can go beyond what would otherwise be merely rational and scientific.”

The other component to the program will be an annual public workshop or lecture at SU on Rand’s philosophy of objectives and capitalism, which will be open to both the university community and the public.

— Daily Staff Report