Keynote Speakers

Bob Francis
"Entrepreneurship - Skill or Luck?"
Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2006
Hulen Private Dining Room
6 p.m.
www.milford-partners.com

A serial entrepreneur and seasoned industry professional with extensive management experience, Bob Francis specializes in working with entrepreneurs, investors and boards for financings, turnarounds, mergers, acquisitions and start-ups in high technology fields.

With more than 40 years of industry experience, Bob Francis spent most of his career managing operations for public corporations such as Motorola, GTE, Paradyne, Stromberg-Carlson and Infotron Systems Corporation.  From 1990 through 1993, he served as President of General DataComm International (NYSE: GDC) prior to forming his own consulting business, Milford Communications Partners L.L.C., in November, 1993.

Milford Communications Partners L.L.C. is a consultancy company specializing in advanced technology.  Its primary focus is the rapidly growing markets for wireless communications and vehicle telematics.  The company is based in Clearwater, Florida , and continues to provide consulting services to start-ups and public and private early stage companies expanding into new markets.

In 2000, Mr. Francis was a founder of Milford Investment Partners, Clearwater, Florida, to arrange investments in wireless and Internet companies.   

Mr. Francis was a founder and Managing Director of Jefferson Partners L.L.C., Washington, DC , where he directed the high technology practice and arranged financings with a focus on Satellite, Internet, Multimedia and Wireless technologies.

He was a member of the World Teleport Association from 1987 until 2000, and on their Board of Directors from 1993 through 1999.  From June, 1994, until April, 1999, he was the Secretary General of the Association where he was the global spokesperson and managed the operations of this international member-service organization of Teleport operators, suppliers and consultants.

This event is free of charge, but reservations are required. Please contact  Robin Hartwick  to reserve your place today!

Herman Cain

Herman Cain, a Horatio Alger Award recipient whose personal business success story epitomizes the American Dream, will share the importance of perseverance, family and spirituality. A reception will follow in Mills Library.  Cain is CEO/president of T.H.E. New Voice, Inc., which specializes in keynote speaking. He is author of three books on leadership, Common Sense, Speak As A Leader, and CEO of SELF. His Web site is www.hermancain.com.

Cain served as the chairman of the Tax Leadership Council, the education component of Americans for Fair Taxation. In 1996, he was chairman of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City. In 1995, he served as a member of the Economic Growth and Tax Reform Commission established by Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole.

During his recent U.S. Senate race, Cain's key messages focused on replacing the current income tax code with a national sales tax; restructuring the Social Security system with gradual, optional personal retirement accounts, and ensuring less government control of health care that is affordable and accessible to everyone.

Dinesh D'Souza
"What's so great about America?"
Thursday, April 14, 2005

Dinesh D'Souza, called one of the top young public-policy makers in the country by Investor's Business Daily, will give a free public lecture at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 14, in the Mills Center on the Hendrix College campus.

His lecture, "What's So Great about America," is sponsored by the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Hendrix. A reception will follow the lecture in Mills Library. For more information, contact Dr. Keith Berry at (501) 450-1233 or berry@hendrix.edu.

D'Souza, a Robert and Karen Rishwain Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, served as senior domestic policy analyst at the White House during the Reagan administration.

He is the author of several books that have had a major influence on public policy, including the New York Times best-seller Illiberal Education (1991), The End of Racism (1995), and his latest, What's So Great about America (2002). He is presently editing a forthcoming book, The Best That Has Been Thought and Said: A Multicultural Reader.

D'Souza's writings have been published in major newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. He has appeared on such TV programs as ABC's Nightline, CNN's Crossfire, CBS's Face the Nation, Fox News' Hannity & Colmes and MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews.

A native of India, D'Souza came to the U.S. as a high school exchange student in Arizona when he was 17. From there, he entered Dartmouth College, earning a BA degree in English in 1983. After graduation, he served as editor of the Princeton University alumni magazine then as managing editor of the Heritage Foundation magazine, Policy Review. He is currently editor of the Catholic political magazine Crisis and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a think tank in Washington.