Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Entrepreneurial Experience Lecture with James Rooney
11 a.m.
Calendar: Miller College of Business
James RooneyFor more than 20 years James Rooney has developed, launched, and led social impact and sustainability strategies and initiatives for domestic and international companies. James currently serves as the first head of Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy for Olo, a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform for the restaurant industry. Before that, James was the first Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) leader for Dick’s Sporting Goods, the first Executive Director for the Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation, and spent nearly a decade with Microsoft Philanthropies where he lead a variety of global technology, humanitarian response, and community programs. James graduated from Ball State University with a Bachelors of Arts in English and a minor in Journalism and earned a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy and Governance. He also holds a Sustainable Business Certificate from Presidio Graduate School and an Impact Reporting & Measurement for the SDGs Certificate from Duke University.
Lifelong Learners: African Violets - Beyond Box Stores
1:30 p.m.
Calendar: Association of Lifelong Learners Calendar
Have you ever purchased an African Violet from a box store, only to have it die or stop flowering? Dr. Jeff Smith is a member of the African Violet Society of America and has combined his training as a Botanist with his hobby of African Violets. His program will give a brief history of African Violets, a short course on how to grow and reproduce these plants, and an informative slide show of the many types of violets that are available in the hobbyist world but not sold in box stores.