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PRESS RELEASE: BB&T Charitable Foundation Donates $2 million to Mercatus Center at George Mason University

July 6, 2007

Media Contact: Carrie Conko, Mercatus Center at George Mason University, (703) 993-4899 or cconko@gmu.edu

Arlington, VA, July 6, 2007-The Mercatus Center at George Mason University announced today that it is the recipient of a $2 million contribution from the BB&T Charitable Foundation.

"We believe there needs to be a deeper understanding of the morality of capitalism and its causal relationship to economic well-being," said BB&T Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Allison, "This contribution will encourage a thorough discussion of the moral foundations of capitalism with an organization that meets the highest academic standards and encourages students to hear all points of view."

A portion of the funds will create two chaired faculty positions at the Mercatus Center and within the Economics Department at George Mason University, dedicated toward the study and teaching of the moral foundations of capitalism. The BB&T Chairs for the Study of Capitalism will be filled by Professors Peter Boettke and Peter Leeson whose research focuses on how societies transition to prosperity and remain prosperous over time.

In addition to the faculty positions, the funds will help the Mercatus Center expand its established Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Lecture Series and student fellowship program.

"Most people do not understand how capitalism works or why the practicality and morality of free exchange are so closely related," said Mercatus General Director Tyler Cowen, "This investment will enable students and faculty to further the academic discussion about the role of capitalism in creating a freer, more prosperous and civil society."

The Mercatus Center at George Mason University is a research, education, and outreach organization that works with scholars, policy experts, and government officials to connect academic learning and real world practice.  The mission of Mercatus is to promote sound interdisciplinary research and application in the humane sciences that integrates theory and practice to produce solutions that sustainably advance a free, prosperous, and civil society.

BB&T Corporation is the nation's 12th largest financial holding company with $121.7 billion in assets.  Based in Winston-Salem, N.C., BB&T and its subsidiaries offer full-service commercial, retail banking, and additional financial services such as insurance, investments, retail brokerage, mortgage, corporate finance, consumer finance, payment services, international banking, leasing and trust. BB&T has the second largest market share in Virginia, and operates about 200 financial centers in the D.C. metro and Northern Virginia area. It operates more than 1,470 financial centers throughout its footprint in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic states.