CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A presidential economic adviser and the chief accountant for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will present lectures this month on the University of Illinois campus.
Charles P. Blahous, deputy assistant to the president for economic policy and deputy director of the White House National Economic Council, will speak at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 15 in Room 141 of Wohlers Hall.
Conrad W. Hewitt, who helps oversee the nation's financial markets as chief accountant for the SEC, will speak at 2:30 p.m. Oct. 10, also in Room 141 of Wohlers, at the corner of Sixth and Gregory streets in Champaign.
Blahous, the author of a book on Social Security reform, will present a lecture titled "Supporting an Aging Society: The Flight From Responsibility," sponsored by the university's Center for Business and Public Policy.
He joined the National Economic Council in 2001 as a special assistant focusing on Social Security. His book, "Reforming Social Security for Ourselves and Our Posterity," was published in 2000. He advises the president on policy matters involving various sectors of the nation's economy.
Hewitt's speech, sponsored by the College of Business, is titled "What is the Future of Accounting and Auditing?" A U. of I. graduate, Hewitt is the principal adviser on accounting and auditing matters for the SEC, an independent government agency that enforces federal securities laws and regulates the securities industry and the nation's stock and options exchanges.
Hewitt is a former commissioner of financial institutions and superintendent of banking in California, positions he held in the mid- and late 1990s. He retired in 1995 as a managing partner from Ernst & Young, one of the nation's top accounting firms.