As part of the ongoing Jacob Marschak Lecture Series on Mathematics and Behavioral Sciences, a lecture will be held at the UCLA Anderson School of Management today.
The lecture, “Leadership and the Struggle for Focal Points,” will be led by Andrew Sabl, a UCLA professor of public policy.
Sabl said the lecture will focus on political leaders and the ethical questions surrounding acquisition of power.
The lecture will cover conflict strategy and the difficulties involved with political coordinator, according to the Anderson School Web site.
Presented by the Anderson School, the series has fostered discussion and dialogue in the behavioral sciences since its creation by Professor Jacob Marschak in 1961, said Michael Intriligator, the co-director of the lecture series and an economics professor emeritus. Lecture topics vary from anthropology to architecture, engineering to public planning and systems analysis, according to the Anderson Web site.
Mark Kleiman, another co-director of the series and a professor of public policy, said the lecture series covers interdisciplinary topics and that it is important to have people in different fields talking to each other.
He said the series invites anyone interested in the social sciences to attend, adding that people should not be scared off by the mathematics aspect of the series.
Intriligator said the audience generally includes graduate students from the departments of each lecture topic.
Both directors said they wish to spread the word about the lectures to undergraduate students and increase undergraduate attendance at the lectures.
The series offers an opportunity to enhance a liberal arts education, Kleiman said.
Marschak moved to UCLA in 1960, and soon after he created the Colloquium series, Intriligator said.
He said Marschak ran the Colloquium until his death in 1977, at which point Intriligator took over the role of director and later asked Kleiman to join him.
Kleiman said that a highlight of the series is the annual Jacob Marschak Memorial Lecture, which will be held on May 8.
The lecture, on domestication in biotechnology, will be given by Freeman Dyson, a professor emeritus of physics at Princeton University.