World Bank Exec Set to Talk at USF

From the University of South Florida: 

Ian Solomon, the United States executive director of the World Bank Group, will speak to students and faculty at the University of South Florida, May 17 on the "Role of the U.S. in the World Bank." The talk will be held between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m.at the Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions in room 136/138.

This event is free and open to the public and is sponsored by USF World, the university’s hub for international education programs and activities. 

"We are honored to have Ian Solomon here at USF," said USF Senior Vice President for Global Affairs Karen Holbrook. "This is a unique opportunity for our students and faculty to hear first-hand from someone with enormous influence on the world stage who lives and works at the center of global economic policy-making. We are building an impressive list of guest speakers with the ambassadors, major corporate leaders and scholars from around the world who are sharing their time and knowledge with us."  

Established in 1945, the World Bank Group is made up of five organizations owned by governments of member countries. Under the governing group, the World Bank carries out its mission to reduce global poverty and support development in underserved regions of the world. The group is now the world’s largest funder of education and the largest international financier of biodiversity projects, and water and sanitation projects. In 2011 alone, the World Bank funded 303 projects in developing countries across the world at a total of $46.9 billion. Currently the bank is involved in 1800 projects in almost every sector in every country.

Nominated by President Barack Obama and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate, Ian Solomon represents the United States as the largest shareholder on the executive boards of the World Bank Group institutions. Prior to his appointment to the World Bank Group, Solomon served as Senior Advisor to the United States Department of the Treasury on international and domestic issues, and as Legislative Counsel to the then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama working on issues relating to poverty, economic development, government reform, tax, budget, banking, and finance.

In addition to his work in the political arena, Solomon was also Associate Dean at Yale Law School overseeing finance and administration. While in New Haven, Connecticut, Solomon directed an initiative to increase small and minority businesses contracting with the City of New Haven. As a consultant with McKinsey and Company in New York, he assisted global financial institutions, media companies and non-profit organizations using his expertise. 

He co-authored two chapters in the 2007 Africa World Press publication "No More Tears…Struggles for Land in Mpumalanga, South Africa." Solomon received his bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard College and his law degree from Yale Law School.