Ouachita Stories

Dr. Barry Schwartz will lecture on his book The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less as part of Ouachita Baptist University's Birkett Williams lecture series. The lecture will be held Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Mabee Fine Arts Center’s McBeth Recital Hall after a 6 p.m. dinner in Walker Conference Center.

"Schwartz’s book attempts to document the harmful social-psychological effects of having too much choice, whether in the realm of groceries, appliances or health-care," said Dr. Mark Edwards, OBU assistant professor of history. "Schwartz’s argument is a must-know for anyone who participates in our economy of abundance."

Schwartz, the Dorwin P. Cartwright Professor of Social Theory and Social Action at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Penn., will speak as part of the annual lecture series named for Birkett L. Williams. Williams was a 1910 graduate of Ouachita, a highly successful automobile dealer, and the owner of the Monarch Leasing Company of Cleveland, Ohio. Williams was a generous donor to Ouachita over the years, providing gifts to assist with the funding of buildings, A. U. Williams Field and other projects. In 1977, he established an endowment to underwrite an annual series of campus appearances and lectures by outstanding scholars and public figures.

For more information, please contact Mark Edwards at (870) 245-5547 or via e-mail at edwardsm@obu.edu.

by Adam Wheat