Baseball commissioner to address ethical leadership

Major League Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig will give the keynote address as a part of Ethics Week, sponsored by the Howard Carver Ethics and Professionalism Program at the Wisconsin School of Business.

Selig’s remarks, titled “Perspectives on Ethical Leadership — A View from the Commissioner,” will be from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 27 in the Plenary Room at Grainger Hall, 975 University Ave., on the UW–Madison campus.

A question-and-answer session will follow his talk, which is open to the public.

Selig, a 1956 UW–Madison graduate with bachelor’s degrees in history and political science, has served as the Commissioner of Baseball since 1998 and has led the industry since 1992. His talk to business students and faculty will offer reflections on ethics and professionalism, specifically how he established ethical principles within the Milwaukee Brewers organization, Major League Baseball’s headquarters and the industry as a whole. Selig will also offer his advice to students making their way in the business world.

Selig is the ninth commissioner in the history of Major League Baseball and the former owner of the Brewers. He returned the national pastime to the state’s biggest city — his hometown — in 1970.

Two years ago, Selig established the Allan H. Selig Chair in History at the university. The chair will support a new faculty position focusing on teaching and research on the development of professional sports and their national and social contexts, such as race, gender, labor relations, economics, and how sports influence and reflect broader social change. The Selig Chair is expected to allow the university to be a leader in the emerging field of American sports history.

Selig plans to return to campus after his retirement to write his memoirs and help contribute to his legacy in the field of history.