The DePauw community will welcome social entrepreneur and TOMs founder Blake Mycoskie on Sunday at 7 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium. The Timothy and Sharon Ubben Lecture Series will present "Conscious Capitalism and the Future of Business."
"I am so excited," said first-year student Liz Fraser. "Blake Mycoskie seems like a really innovative individual with a lot of creative ideas fashionably and for the general well- being of humanity. I think we can learn a lot from him."
Executive Director of Media Relations Ken Owen originally had the idea to bring Mycoskie to campus.Owen began conversation with Mycoskie starting three - four years ago when he initially talked about bringing Mycoskie to DePauw.
Owen believes that now is a great time to bring Mycoskie to campus because the TOMs company has grown to a point where most people are more familiar with its purpose in social entrepreneurship.
"This weekend is a big weekend for Admissions, and Blake Mycoskie has been on DePauw's radar for a while," Owen said. "He is a great example of a younger person doing things and making the world a better place, and hopefully this lecture will engage a lot of students."
According to the DePauw website, while traveling in Argentina in 2006, Mycoskie witnessed the hardships faced by children growing up without shoes. His solution to the problem was to create a for-profit business that was sustainable and not reliant on donations. The concept began with the name "Shoes for a Better Tomorrow," which was shortened to "Tomorrow's Shoes," and then simply became "TOMS."
Mycoskie's One for One charity movement has turned into a global phenomenon. His company is currently distributing shoes in 28 countries.
According to Owen, getting Mycoskie to come to DePauw was a challenge.
"He doesn't do many of these, so it was difficult to find a time for him to come," said Owens. "[We] nailed it down in the fall and announced it in December after I signed a contract in October."
Mycoskie's visit to DePauw will mark the fourth Ubben lecture this year, funded by 1958 DePauw graduates Timothy and Sharon Ubben. Other Ubben Lecture speakers this year have included Ron Paul, Bret Baier and Martin Luther King III.
Owen explains that the Ubben Lecuture speakers are always chosen with great care, as the speakers generally attract a large portion of the student body, and the students are looking to be inspired.
"Primarily for students, we want to bring influential and impactful people," said Owen. "I think we are going to fill up. Between students, perspectives, and alumni we should have a full house."
Many students have been looking forward to attending the event Sunday evening. First-year Kimi DeBusschere believes that Mycoskie's speech will be particularly inspirational for students involved in greek life at DePauw, as greek houses focus in on philanthropy.
"As a large Greek school, we are very invested in philanthropies," DeBusschere said. "We try to raise money for our cause, in fun and innovative ways. Blake has made it fashionable to help children across the world and change their life in extreme ways."
Owen thinks that the timing of the lecture is perfect, especially given that there are many prospective students on campus this weekend for the Honors and Fellows Weekend. He hopes that the lecture will encourage prospective students to choose DePauw.
"It is a great weekend, being a big admission weekend with prospective students coming, and it is close to spring break," Owen said.
"There might be one more Ubben lecture this year," Owen said. "The goal is to bring a variety of backgrounds and viewpoints and we try to hit all the bases. Hopefully this will cover bases including people who are interested in business or entrepreneurship or students rather interested in being impactful or producing a product that benefits people."