Selective Patronage

Contemporary academic corporate governance narratives have a blind spot. They focus on institutions, rules, regulations, processes, procedures, intermediaries, and market forces. Yet, missing in this narrative, is the impact of corporate leadership. Ignoring the “black box” of corporate leadership, particularly individual actors, renders an incomplete descriptive assessment as well as potential miscalculations. The examination of key historical figures and their corporate activism provides an important lens through which to identify potential challenges and opportunities related to the contemporary ESG movement. Generally, this essay examines corporate leadership’s potential to address socio-political issues through the prism of Civil Rights Movement activism. Specifically, it reflects on the far-reaching legacy of Reverend Leon H. Sullivan: his Selective Patronage Movement; Opportunities Industrialization Centers; International Foundation for Education and Self Help (IFESH); cooperative investment strategies; entrepreneurialism; longstanding service on the General Motors board of directors; development of the Sullivan Principles to combat apartheid in South Africa; and the contribution of the Global Sullivan Principles in promoting human rights everywhere. Sullivan’s use of various modes of economic power and coercion illustrate how corporate leadership can promote change both intramurally and in society at large. The analysis also reveals some challenges and limitations that remain relevant today. Part I of this Article reintroduces contemporary scholars to Reverend Leon H. Sullivan: his early origins, influences, and the philosophy informing his activism. Part II describes his broad legacy of economic activism. Part III examines how Sullivan’s civil and human rights activism inform modern corporate activism. Finally, Part IV draws conclusions and suggests directions for future research

Lost in Transition: The Implications of Social Capital for Higher Education Access

The article presents information on transition of students between educational institutions while obtaining higher education. It includes information on the implication of social capital for higher education that varies between vocational schools, community colleges and for-profit universities. It includes information on policies employed by policymakers to promote college access among vulnerable students who are suffering from economic problems and inability to obtain academic achievements

Chief Legal Officer 5.0

This Essay builds upon the business-lawyer value-creation literature by analyzing the contemporary CLO and argues for an enhanced CLO role. It emphasizes the sometimes ignored and underemphasized demand-side considerations involved in the provision of legal services. These demand- side considerations will help to predict the competencies and expanded skill sets CLOs will need to navigate the challenging contemporary business environment. Part I of this Essay discusses CLOs’ sophisticated purchasing competencies. It explores how CLOs have revolutionized legal service provision by addressing problems stemming from information asymmetries between the client corporation and external legal service providers. Part II examines how the contemporary CLO role is more financially focused, placing greater demands on legal departments to articulate their value to corporate managers. Part III explores the importance of global enterprise risk management and the impact CLOs can have in capturing and preserving economic value. Part IV addresses potential challenges and concerns related to the proposed enhanced CLO role. The Essay concludes that the contemporary business environment facing global companies requires an enhanced CLO role reflecting a broader range of competencies. As a matter of prediction and aspiration, it maps out key competencies contemporary CLOs should possess

Chancery’s Greatest Decision: Historical Insights on Civil Rights and the Future of Shareholder Activism

This article builds upon the author\u27s remarks at the 2018-2019 Lara D. Gass Annual Symposium: Civil Rights and Shareholder Activism at Washington and Lee University School of Law, February 15, 2019. Shareholder activism—using an equity stake in a corporation to influence management—has become a popular tool to effectuate social change in the twenty-first century. Increasingly, activists are looking beyond financial performance to demand better corporate performance in such areas as economic inequality, civil rights, human rights, discrimination, and diversity. These efforts take many forms: publicity campaigns, litigation, proxy battles, shareholder resolutions, and negotiations with corporate management. However, a consensus on scope is lacking. Should corporations change their own operations to reflect a specific agenda or use their power to influence society on a much broader scale? Distinctions between private and public become blurred in light of the ubiquitous and inevitable influence corporations wield over third parties. Theoretical absolutes on the individualist-communitarian spectrum may underestimate the complex co-dependent and co-responsible interrelationship between corporations and modern society. Critics may fairly question why corporations, arguably society’s most potent institutions, should sit idle on problems like civil rights. This essay offers a historical account of a seminal civil rights decision, Belton v. Gebhart, in the Delaware Court of Chancery. The circumstances surrounding the Belton case illuminate the limits and potential of shareholder activism to bolster civil rights in the modern context. Examining a historical civil rights example is instructive for thinking about how shareholder activism might advance the modern civil rights agenda. Part II of this essay examines Belton v. Gebhart in its contemporary context. Part III examines the key differences between past and present civil rights-related shareholder activism. Part IV concludes that Belton v. Gebhart, along with its surrounding circumstances and events, vividly illustrates that advancing civil rights requires a range of tactics that leverage public, private, and philanthropic resources. Shareholder activism works best as part of a multipronged activist strategy, not as a substitute for other types of activism. Recognizing the complex challenges associated with advancing civil rights, this essay raises key questions about the nascent environmental, social, and governance (ESG) framework with which scholars, practitioners, and other observers must contend

The chemokine receptor CXCR2 and coronavirus-induced neurologic disease.

Inoculation with the neurotropic JHM strain of mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) into the central nervous system (CNS) of susceptible strains of mice results in an acute encephalomyelitis in which virus preferentially replicates within glial cells while excluding neurons. Control of viral replication during acute disease is mediated by infiltrating virus-specific T cells via cytokine secretion and cytolytic activity, however sterile immunity is not achieved and virus persists resulting in chronic neuroinflammation associated with demyelination. CXCR2 is a chemokine receptor that upon binding to specific ligands promotes host defense through recruitment of myeloid cells to the CNS as well as protecting oligodendroglia from cytokine-mediated death in response to MHV infection. These findings highlight growing evidence of the diverse and important role of CXCR2 in regulating neuroinflammatory diseases