School of Business Focuses on Faith and Ethics Program

MC School of Business Dean Marcelo Eduardo

Mississippi College’s Faith & Ethics Week is one of the cornerstones of its School of Business each year.

The newest version of Faith and Ethics Week will be a noteworthy event with several prominent business leaders to share their insights with students. Business Dean Marcelo Eduardo always looks forward to the special week every year.

The program “is an integral part of our mission to provide our students with a quality business education in a Christian environment,” Eduardo said.

Successful business practitioners give students “a first-hand look at the challenges facing them,” he added. They faced a variety of situations involving ethics during their careers “in what we call the intersection of business and faith.”

Faculty members eagerly anticipate the activities.

“Faith and Ethics Week is a hallmark event for the School of Business,” says professor Sara Kimmel. “It connects our students’ education with our vision, to be known as a business school recognized for academic excellence and commitment to the cause of Christ.”

The business people can “share their experience and strength with these young people who will be faced with opportunities and challenges we’ve not yet encountered,” Kimmel said. This event helps students see the outcomes of ethical leadership, she noted.

MC School of Business graduates such as Arty Finkleberg, who’s been named among the Financial Times Top 400 Financial Advisers, will be among the speakers. He plans to visit classrooms on March 10 as part of the series. He’s a senior vice president for investments with Raymond James at Highland Colony Parkway offices in Ridgeland.

A nationally honored financial advisor (also noted by Barron’s and Forbes magazine), Finkleberg has nearly 40 years in the investment industry and clients in 30 states.

Other speakers include Mississippi College graduate Mike Walters, a longtime education and business leader. A former Choctaws football player, Dr. Walters praises his alma mater for building him up as a student-athlete and man of faith. He’s was named MC’s Alumnus of the Year in 2019. A former superintendent of the Tupelo public schools, the Terry resident served as CEO of the Jackson-based JBHM Education Group. He serves on MC’s Foundation Board.

Other speakers coming to Mississippi College include Denny VanderMolen, president of Vermeer MidSouth, Kelley Williams Jr., manager at Greenover LLC in Jackson; and Matt Thornton, president and CEO of Butler Snow Advisory Services, LLC.

Also booked: financial planner and CPA Mary Helen Klingen of Ron Blue Trust, Jim Richards, President & CEO at KLLM Transport Services, Mississippi attorney Chip Wilbanks, a partner at Wilbanks & Dowd, and Percy Thornton, owner of Southern States Utility Trailer Sales in Pearl.

The series at the Baptist-affiliated university was made possible by the generosity of L.D. “Don” Jordan, a 1951 graduate of the MC School of Business. Known as “Papa” Jordan, the retired Tennessee business executive was overseeing the popular Holiday Deli and Ham restaurants for decades in the Memphis area. Pimento’s restaurant on the Clinton campus was created as part of the Jordan family’s thriving business enterprises.