Owen School dean to serve on Mayor Barry’s financial inclusion committee

Eric Johnson
M. Eric Johnson, dean of the Owen Graduate School of Management (John Russell/Vanderbilt)

The dean of Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management has been tapped to contribute to an effort by Mayor Megan Barry to make Nashville more financially inclusive.

M.Eric Johnson, Ralph Owen Dean and Bruce D. Henderson Professor of Strategy, will serve on the Financial Literacy Subcommittee of the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee. His subcommittee will assess the financial skills and knowledge being delivered by formal education.

“[lquote]Empowering our residents with the tools necessary to improve their lives is a key focus of my administration[/lquote],” Barry said during the Sept. 29 announcement. She is a 1993 MBA graduate of the Owen School.

The co-chairs of the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee are former Tennessee Titans running back Eddie George and Shawn Joseph, director of Metro Nashville Pubic Schools. There are two other subcommittees, the Financial Empowerment Subcommittee and the Financial Capability Subcommittee.

The overall committee will develop a plan to empower low- and moderate-income Nashville residents toward financial inclusion by helping them make better financial decisions and reducing existing barriers to enter the financial marketplace.

Students from Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management will participate in the effort, Johnson said.