Faith and Business Luncheons

Perkins’ mission to prepare women and men for faithful leadership in Christian ministry extends not only to students and ministry professionals but also to laypersons and the larger community. In support of this mission, our Faith and Business Luncheons are held three times a year and feature guests for critical reflection on the intersection of public life and personal faith.

We are pleased to Dr. Cullum Clark serves as Director of the Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative where he is responsible for managing various aspects of the new partnership between the Department of Economics and the Bush Institute and leads the Initiative's work on domestic economic policy and economic growth. Dr. Clark earned a B.A. in History from Yale University, an A.M. in Political Science from Harvard, his Ph.D. in Economics at SMU in May 2017 and subsequently joined the faculty of SMU’s Department of Economics. His chief research interests are macroeconomic policy, economic geography and urban economics, and modern economic history.

Dr. Clark worked for 25 years in the investment industry, including stints as portfolio manager for Brown Brother Harriman & Co., Warburg Pincus Asset Management, and president and Chief Investment Officer for a Dallas-based hedge fund firm and President of Prothro Clark Company, a Dallas family investment office. Prior to entering the investment industry, he served for one year on the staff of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. In addition to his time in the PhD program, his involvement with SMU includes serving since 2008 on the University’s Investment Committee, since 2010 on the Tate Lecture Series Board of Directors. He is a Tower Center Fellow and serves on the board of the Eugene McDermott Foundation, Uplift Education, the Yale University Art Gallery, and the Foundation for the Arts. He and his wife Nita have three daughters.

We invite you to join us to hear from Dr. Clark. Although there is no charge to attend the luncheon, reservations are required. 

Audio recordings and presenters from previous Faith and Business Luncheons