GRANTHAM, Pa. (Sept. 7, 2007) — A panel of educators, authors, business developments experts and economists will discuss the unique character of the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation’s successful model of business. They will consider whether the model is applicable in alternate settings during a mini-conference at Messiah College on Sept. 29 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Alexander Auditorium, room 110, in Frey Hall academic building on the college’s Grantham campus.  Mikel Lezamiz, director of cooperative dissemination for the Mondragon Cooperatives, will provide an overview of the structure and community-based focus of the Mondragon model, and a panel, comprised of Thomas Hyclak, David Herrera and John Logue, will respond to the pros and cons of such a model.  This mini-conference is open to the public; there is a registration fee of $10.  Contact Roger Johnson, professor of economics, at (717) 766-2511, ext. 3780 for more information.

About Mondragon Cooperative Corporation

The Mondragon Cooperative Corporation began in 1956 in the Basque town of Mondragon.  Having grown to more than 300 enterprises and entities in Europe, South America, Africa and Asia, Mondragon Cooperatives are characterized by their humanitarian commitment and social responsibility as reflected in their mission to “produce and sell goods, provide services and distributions, using democratic methods in [our] organizational structure and distributing the assets generated for the benefit of [our] members and the community, as a measure of solidarity.”  A series of community-oriented values and business principles reflect Mondragon Cooperative’s founding by a Roman Catholic priest.

About the panelists

Mikel Lezamiz, as director of cooperative dissemination for the Mondragon Coopearatives, will provide an overview of his company’s unique character and facilitate a discussion of its role in community-based economic development. 

The responding panel includes:

• Thomas Hyclak, professor of economics at Lehigh University, author of several books about labor economics and president of the board of directors of the Community Action Development Corporation of Bethlehem;
• David Herrera, who has been researching, lecturing, writing and teaching about the Mondragon experience since 1995 at the University of San Diego; and
• John Logue, director of the Ohio Employee Ownership and political science professor at Kent State University, has worked with more than 500 Ohio employee groups to consider whether employee ownership makes sense in their particular case.  Logue is co-author of several books about employee ownership.

About Messiah College

Messiah College, a private Christian college of the liberal and applied arts and sciences, enrolls more than 2,800 undergraduate students in 60 majors. Established in 1909, the primary campus is located in Grantham, Pa., near the state capital of Harrisburg. A satellite campus affiliated with Temple University is located in Philadelphia.