The topic was timely. The discussion was engaging. The audience was enthusiastic. All and all, the college’s Herbert A. Wertheim lecture held on April 6, 2006, at Florida International University was deemed an enriching experience for the some eighty faculty, students, alumni, and guests in attendance.
The guest lecturer was Jesse J. Tyson, president and sales director for ExxonMobil Inter-America, Inc., and a member of the college’s Dean’s Council. His presentation, entitled “The Outlook on Energy: A View to 2030,” offered a long-term outlook for worldwide economic growth and energy demands as well as for oil and gas supplies. According to Tyson, ExxonMobil incorporated the views of organizations such at the International Energy Association, the U.S. Department of Energy, and other leading economic energy experts when compiling its detailed research.
“Tyson gave us a clear understanding of the scope and dynamics of the global oil industry—what’s being produced, where it’s being produced, and what the long-term outlook is,” said Jerry Haar, professor in the Department of Management and International Business in the College of Business Administration and associate director of the college’s Knight Ridder Center for Excellence in Management. “He also gave us keen insight into the role ExxonMobil is playing in the development of new technologies and how the company balances the quest for new energy resources with environmental conservation.”
According to Haar, the presentation and the question-and-answer session that followed it “generated great interaction and dialogue between Tyson and the lecture attendees.”
Dianne Cordova, a management major who is graduating this May, is glad she went to the lecture.
“The topic was extremely relevant to what’s going on today in the world, not to mention at local gas stations,” she said. “It was a worthwhile, well-planned event. The discussion was open and thought-provoking. Plus, the event provided a great networking opportunity.”
The luncheon offered some lessons of a more personal nature to Mark Elbadramany, who will graduate in December, 2006, with a double major in international business honors (IB Honors) and finance.
“Certainly I learned a lot about the realities of the oil industry,” he said. “But Tyson also offered some inspirational advice based on his own experiences. He encouraged students like us—who are on the brink of becoming young professionals—to always remember who we are and where we come from. He emphasized the importance of remaining true to our personal beliefs and principles, wherever a career may take us. That in itself is a valuable lesson.”
This Wertheim lecture was the second in the series for the 2005 to 2006 academic year—and an excellent example of the ongoing commitment to bring distinguished speakers and experts in business leadership and entrepreneurship to campus. Herbert A. Wertheim, a long-time supporter of the university and the college and a member of the university’s Board of Trustees, endowed the lecture series in 1993.
