News Release

Sharon L. Allen (pictured at right), the first woman chairman of the board of Deloitte & Touche USA LLP, will speak on "Global Trends That Have An Impact on Today's Corporate Decision-making," at 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday, October 19, 2004 at The Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held in Kenney Auditorium located on the first floor of the school's Nitze Building, 1740 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. For more information, call (410) 516-2838 or e-mail ginderlecture@jhu.edu.

Allen's talk is part of the Ginder Lecture Series, a semi-annual event sponsored by the Graduate Division of Business and Management of the Johns Hopkins School of Professional Studies in Business and Education.

Allen was named to her position at Deloitte & Touche in May 2003, following progressive achievements and firsts over her 30-year career. Deloitte, one of the nation's leading professional services firms, provides audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services to nearly 30,000 people in more than 80 U.S. cities, and serves more than one-half of the world's largest companies. Allen also serves on the board of the global firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, where she co-chairs the risk management committee and serves on the board's global governance committee.

In the last year, Allen has been named one of the "Top 100 Most Influential" in accounting by Accounting Today magazine, been appointed to the board of The Malcolm S. Baldrige Foundation, and been called an outstanding leader by the United Way of Greater Los Angeles for her philanthropic efforts.

Before becoming chairman, she served as a member of the firm's board of directors and was managing partner of its Pacific Southwest practice, the organization's second-largest regional office.

Allen is a frequent speaker and panelist, having participated in events sponsored by the Economic Club of Chicago, the UCLA Andersen School Corporate Governance Conference, The Milken Global Economic Conference, The Economist CEO/CFO Governance Conference, the Women's Economic Club of Detroit, and the Darden School Leadership Series at the University of Virginia.

William Ginder, a 1954 graduate of the Johns Hopkins School of Professional Studies in Business and Education (SPSBE), and his wife, Katherine, established the William M. and Katherine B. Ginder Lecture Fund at SPSBE in 1989. Twice a year, the fund brings speakers to campus to discuss timely and stimulating economic issues affecting the region and the nation. Most recent speakers have included Cal Darden, senior vice president, U.S. operations, UPS; Mark B. McClellan, then commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; and Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes, D-Md.

Founded in 1909, The School of Professional Studies in Business and Education offers graduate and undergraduate programs for working professionals on a part-time basis in its four academic divisions: business, education, public safety leadership, and undergraduate studies. Located on the Homewood campus in Baltimore, Maryland, the school enrolls approximately 4,500 students and has four off-campus centers in the Baltimore-Washington area. For more information contact: www.spsbe.jhu.edu.