Kansas Secretary of Commerce to present 2019 Chandler Lecture

LAWRENCE — Kansas Secretary of Commerce David Toland will deliver the University of Kansas School of Business Anderson Chandler Lecture at 7 p.m. Oct. 22 at Capitol Federal Hall.

Toland will share remarks and answer questions from the audience. The lecture, which will be held in the Dicus Family Auditorium, 1111 Capitol Federal Hall, is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Since being appointed by Gov. Laura Kelly in January 2019, Toland has overseen sweeping changes within the state’s leading economic development agency. Under his leadership, the department is developing a new economic development blueprint for the state, undertaking the first new strategic plan for growth since 1986. Toland has also worked to rebuild the business and community development division of the Department of Commerce, filling positions that have remained vacant for several years and re-establishing the state’s presence in key domestic and international markets.

Previously, Toland worked as an appointee of Washington, D.C., Mayor Anthony Williams, holding key leadership positions in the D.C. economic development and planning offices. He also served as the first CEO of Thrive Allen County, a nonprofit coalition that works to improve quality of life and economic conditions in Allen County, Kansas. Toland graduated from KU in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and received a master’s degree in public administration in 2001.

Anderson Chandler is a KU School of Business alumnus and one of the first alumni to be honored with the School of Business Distinguished Alumni Award. Chandler, who makes the lectures possible each year, is chairman emeritus of Fidelity State Bank & Trust Co. of Topeka.

Previous Chandler lectures have featured president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Rob Kaplan, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, former president and CEO of Ford Motor Co. Alan Mulally, and former Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback.