The upcoming weekend at Heidelberg University is to be a busy one.
Heidelberg is to have its first home football game of the season on campus, dedicate John Q. Adams Hall, welcome the Enron whistleblower and host Fellows Day, a business conference and a Gifts of Distinction brunch.
The business conference is Friday and Saturday and features business leaders addressing topics such as ethics, community development and the role of values.
Article Video
Adams Hall
Friday evening, Sherron Watkins, the woman known as Enron's whistleblower, is to deliver the first address in the Patricia Adams Lecture Series. Patricia's husband, John, a 1958 Heidelberg graduate and trustee of the university, donated $2 million toward the renovation of Laird Hall of Science, now named Adams Hall.
According to a release from Heidelberg, Watkins joined Enron in 1993 and managed its $1 billion-plus energy investment portfolio.
She focused on mergers and acquisitions and later uncovered accounting irregularities.
Article Photos
PHOTO BY JILL GOSCHE
Joe Rourke, a senior from Illinois studying economics and legal studies, studies for the Law School Admission Test on the fourth floor of Adams Hall last week.
Jim Troha, Heidelberg's vice president for institutional advancement and university relations, has said Watkins is to speak about business ethics. He said it sounds as if she will be discussing personal experiences she had with Enron as the whistleblower.
Kathryn Venema, associate vice president for institutional advancement and alumni relations, said Watkins is going to be speaking informally with students during the day Friday and give her formal keynote address that evening. The event has been moved to Seiberling Gymnasium because the attendance outgrew Wickham Great Hall, she said.
"We're excited to have Sherron Watkins as the first speaker," she said.
Fact Box
How to hear the speech
People who would like to hear the lecture by Sherron Watkins but who haven't made dinner reservations can attend the lecture free of charge. They can go to the lobby of Seiberling Gymnasium at 7:45 p.m. Friday. For more information, contact Heidelberg University's institutional advancement office at (419) 448-2383.
On the Web:
Heidelberg University:
www.heidelberg.edu
Adams Hall is to be dedicated at 11 a.m. Saturday, and tours are to be available.
Adams Hall now houses Heidelberg's business school. Th four-story building is about 100 years old.
Its basement has a lounge and gathering space. The main floor features a two-story lobby, a bust of John Adams and the business school's administrative offices.
The third floor has meeting rooms, a lounge, work area, two suites of faculty offices and an atrium that overlooks the lobby. The fourth floor has a classroom on one end and a video conferencing center on the other.
The walkway that previously connected the building to Bareis Hall has been removed, and the space is a garden.
Joe Rourke, a senior from Illinois studying economics and legal studies, studied for the Law School Admission Test on the fourth floor of Adams Hall last week in preparation for the Oct. 9 test. He said he spends a lot of time in Adams Hall and likes it a lot. He said he thinks officials did a good job putting it together.
Rourke previously took business classes in Aigler Hall.
"It's a lot different," he said.
Annual Fellows Day festivities also are Saturday. Venema said Fellows Day is a special time when the university welcomes back those who make unrestricted donations to the school for the benefit of the institution and its programs. Fellows will have lunch and be recognized at halftime of the football game, she said.
Heidelberg, which previously played home football games at Frost-Kalnow Stadium, is to play all of its home games on campus this season. Venema said the school brought in bleachers for the game, which is to start at 2 p.m. It is a later start than usual because of all of the events going on at Heidelberg, she said.
