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Cynthia Cooper, the whistleblowing accountant responsible for exposing one of the largest corporate scandals in U.S. history, will visit Western Carolina University in March as part of the Chancellor’s Speaker Series for a conversation with Western students and an evening presentation open to the general public.
Cooper (pictured), who was named one of Time magazine’s “persons of the year” in 2002 after detecting and reporting billions of dollars in questionable accounting practices at communications giant WorldCom, will be on campus Tuesday, March 11.
She will meet in an informal discussion setting that afternoon with WCU students, followed by the public address “WorldCom Warnings: What Went Wrong and Corporate Governance Lessons Learned” at 7 p.m. Both events will be held in the main performance hall of WCU’s Fine and Performing Arts Center.
Tickets for the evening public program are now available. Admission is free of charge.
Vice president of internal audit at WorldCom, Cooper helped uncover accounting activities that turned a $662 million corporate loss into a $2.4 billion profit, resulting in the collapse of what was then the nation’s No. 2 long-distance carrier.
She went on to form her own consulting business, which specializes in consulting and training in internal audit, internal controls, governance and ethics. Cooper has written a book about her experiences titled “Extraordinary Circumstances: The Journey of a Corporate Whistleblower.” She speaks to students and professionals across the country to share the lessons she learned and to emphasize the importance of strong ethical and moral leadership.
Her appearance at WCU is sponsored by the university’s Chancellor’s Speaker Series and the College of Business. The Chancellor’s Speaker Series is designed to bring significant national and international leaders to campus to discuss major issues of the day, and to provide Western students with an opportunity to interact with some of the people who shape and influence the world.
Past speakers have included former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole, presidential candidate John Edwards, former U.S. Surgeon General M. Joycelyn Elders, Nobel Peace Prize-winning Polish leader Lech Walesa, actor Danny Glover, and Gen. Richard B. Myers, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
To reserve a seat or for more information, contact the Fine and Performing Arts Center box office at (828) 227-2479. Ticket holders must be seated by 6:45 p.m.
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Last modified: Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008