Mount Mercy's Presidential Lecture series was established in 2009 to highlight key developments in society that relate to the mission and values of Mount Mercy University and the Sisters of Mercy.
Each year a figure of public recognition is invited to Mount Mercy to deliver a keynote lecture of benefit to the entire campus and surrounding community.
2011-12 Presidential Lecture Series Speaker
On March 20, 2012 Mount Mercy University welcomed Clay Jones, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Rockwell Collins, who spoke on "Globalization: The Good, the Bad, and the Undeniable."
Hailed by the Corridor Business Journal as the most influential person in the Corridor, Jones has served as Rockwell Collins’ leader since June 2002.
Jones joined the company in 1979 after completing service in the U.S. Air Force as a fighter pilot. In 1982, Rockwell Collins sponsored him for a fellowship in a White House Executive Exchange program. He worked in Rockwell Collins’ Government Operations Office in Washington, D.C., from 1988 to 1995, where he was responsible for the space and aircraft systems business areas as vice president of Aerospace Government Affairs and Marketing.
Prior to his appointment as chairman, chief executive officer and president, Jones represented all Rockwell business to international and domestic customers as a corporate senior vice president of Government Operations and International in Washington, D.C., and then vice president and general manager of Rockwell Collins Air Transport Division.
Locally, Jones serves on the Tippie College of Business Board of Visitors at The University of Iowa and the board of trustees for United Way of East Central Iowa. He is also a member of the Iowa Business Council and the Governor's Iowa Partnership for Economic Progress board.
Jones is a native of Nashville, Tenn., and holds a bachelor's degree from The University of Tennessee and a Master of Business Administration from The George Washington University. Jones serves on the Board of Governors of the Aerospace Industries Association, and is on the board of directors of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. In addition, he is a member of the Business Roundtable, The Business Council, and the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. Jones is an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is a director of Deere & Company.
