OU ALUMNUS TO RETURN TO CAMPUS THROUGH T.W. ADAMS LECTURE:

POVERTY REDUCTION IN CAMBODIA TO BE TOPIC OF DISCUSSION

NORMAN – “Multinational corporate investment in less developed nations can have negative affects on their chances for economic development and poverty reduction,” said Harold Kerbo, professor and chair of the Department of Social Sciences at California Polytechnic State University. However, according to Kerbo, the negative affects can be prevented through the existence of a strong development state.

Kerbo, an University of Oklahoma alumnus and visiting professor this fall in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Sociology, will discuss these issues in “Poverty Reduction in Southeast Asia: Prospects for Cambodia.” The free, public lecture will begin at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 30, in Kerr Auditorium of the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, 2401 Chautauqua Ave.

“Thailand and Vietnam have been leaders in poverty reduction in recent decades,” Kerbo said. “Cambodia remains among the world’s poorest countries. ...Given ancient historical and cultural similarities between Thailand and Cambodia, as well as some more recent historical similarities to Vietnam, what do the cases of Thailand and Vietnam suggest for the development and poverty reduction prospects for Cambodia?”

Kerbo’s research interests include American and comparative social stratification, politics and economies, and comparative analyses of Southeast Asia, modern Japan and modern Thailand. He has published several books and journal articles on these subjects. He is the author of a basic sociology text book Sociology: Social Structure and Social Conflict and is creator and general editor of the McGraw-Hill Comparative Societies Series, which includes books on 11 countries. The first volume, Modern Japan, was published in 1998.

Prior to teaching at California Polytechnic State University, Kerbo taught at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and Southwestern Oklahoma State University. He also has served as a visiting professor at universities in Japan, Thailand, Germany and the United Kingdom. Kerbo is the 2006-2007 recipient of an Abe Research Fellowship based in Japan, where he will continue his research on poverty reduction programs in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia and will spend part of the year in residence at the Center for Social Inequality at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan.

Outside of his academic teaching and research, Kerbo is a member of many professional organizations, including the American Sociological Association, International Sociological Association and Association for Asian Studies. He received his doctoral degree in sociology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and both a master of arts and bachelor of arts degree in sociology from OU.

This presentation is sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences’ Dr. T.W. Adams Distinguished Alumni Lecture Program, which brings outstanding alumni back to campus to enhance the intellectual and cultural life of the college.

Adams earned two advanced degrees from the OU College of Arts and Sciences and is a noted author and expert on the country of Cyprus. He retired from the U.S. Foreign Service after a diverse career in government service and business. Adams resides in Washington, D.C., and in 2004, funded an endowment to support the lecture program that carries his name.

For more information about Kerbo’s visit or for accommodations on the basis of disability, call the Department of Sociology at (405) 325-1751.