A Tale of Two Decades: Phil Smith Center Welcomes Dr. Burt Folsom

The Phil Smith Center for Free Enterprise kicked off its fall 2025 speaker series with economic historian Dr. Burt Folsom. Folsom, a fellow at Hillsdale College in Michigan, had a productive day on campus. His visit began with a dynamic classroom engagement in Dr. Bryan Cutsinger’s Principles of Macroeconomics course. A testament to Dr. Folsom’s draw, and to Dr. Cutsinger’s impeccable teaching style, the largest classroom in the College of Business was nearly at capacity with attentive students eager to learn how economics applies beyond the textbook. Students also received a free copy of Dr. Folsom’s most famous book The Myth of the Robber Barrons.

Folsom rounded out the day with a fireside chat with College of Business Dean Daniel Gropper. The audience included a mix of students, faculty, and members of the local business community. Across both events, Folsom provided an in-depth analysis of the pendulum-like shifts in economic policy between the 1920s and 1930s. He highlighted how innovations such as air conditioning, home appliances, and traffic lights flourished during the Roaring Twenties, an era marked by sharp reductions in corporate income taxes, significant deregulation, and limited government intervention. By contrast, the 1930s witnessed the expansion of regulation and government controls, which Folsom argued stifled innovation in a remarkably short period of time. Students and community guests alike commented that the historical examples Folsom cited were both fascinating and accessible, bringing economic policy debates vividly to life.

The Phil Smith Center Speaker Series aims to welcome speakers who, like Dr. Folsom, highlight the benefits of a free market system. Phil Smith, the center’s namesake, began his career washing cars at a local South Florida dealership before building a successful network of dealerships across the Southeast. His vision was to instill free market principles in the next generation, ensuring entrepreneurial stories like his continue to inspire. The Phil Smith Center brings this vision to life by hosting guest speakers, facilitating student reading groups, and supporting faculty research in the spirit of free enterprise.

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