How do we ensure sufficient supplies of electricity to meet expected demand? The third Annual Austin Electricity Conference (held April 18 and 19) took on that topic--‘resource adequacy’ as it is known in energy industry parlance--recently on the University of Texas Campus.

Christopher Meakin received the Outstanding Faculty Award from the Mexico City EMBA class of 2013. He was selected as the professor who provided the class with the most memorable academic experience during the program.

The UT System has created an Academy of Distinguished Teachers. BGS Professor Robert Prentice is one of 12 professors from across the system's nine undergraduate academic institutions admitted into the Academy's inaugural class on April 23.

Power grid operators, in Texas and elsewhere, must make difficult decisions when the demand for electricity strains the system’s limits. They can add more electricity to the grid by turning on another power plant, but that can be costly and increases toxic emissions. Alternatively, they can lower demand for power by asking consumers and businesses to reduce their energy usage.

Brian Richter and Tim Werner presented several papers at the Midwest Political Science Association Conference in Chicago. Their co-authored paper, "Campaign Contributions from Corporate Executives in Lieu of Political Action Committees," shows that when political candidates refuse money from corporate-linked political action committees, corporate executives step in and increase their personal contributions to those candidates. Richter also presented a paper entitled "Campaign Contributions over CEOs' Careers," and Werner presented a paper entitled "Incorporating Private Politics into Frameworks of the Public Policy Process."

David Spence gave a series of talks recently on the regulation of hydraulic fracturing in Los Angeles and Minneapolis. On April 4th, Professor Spence spoke about the regulation of shale gas production to a student seminar on "climate change and energy" at the UCLA School of Law in Los Angeles. On April 25th, he spoke about the politics of fracking regulation at a conference on Legal and Policy Pathways for Energy Innovation at the University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis. On April 26th he spoke at the Annual Conference of the Association for Law, Property and Society, also at UM in Minneapolis. The subject of the second talk was the conflict between state and local regulation of shale gas production in the states.

In March, the BGS “Ethics Unwrapped” video series won two CASE awards from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education in the Electronic Communication Web and New Media category. “Ethical Fading” won a Silver CASE Award, and “Role Morality” won a Bronze CASE Award. These short videos combine animation, live action, and a touch of humor to educate students about concepts in behavioral ethics. Both winning videos were written and narrated by Robert Prentice.

Dave Spence published an op-ed column in The Wall Street Journal on April 15 addressing the issue of whether the federal government should regulate fracking activity. Dave argued that the states are better choices to regulate fracking, while Prof. Jody Freeman of Harvard Law School argued that the federal government should be the primary regulator.

Registration for the conference and lodging is now open for the 13th annual research conference on Strategy and the Business Environment. This conference, which rotates among several top business schools, will be hosted by the McCombs School of Business on May 22-23, 2013. Please visit the 13th Annual SBE Conference information and registration page for more information.

BGS faculty members Fran Pedersen, Dean Bredeson, and Robert Prentice were named to the Undergraduate Business Council Faculty Honor Roll at the McCombs Honors Convocation on April. 12