Colloquium on Debt Relief in the Global South
University of Notre Dame, May 8-9 2026
The BIG Lab in the Pulte Institute for Global Development at the University of Notre Dame's Keough School invites you to join us for a colloquium on Debt Relief in the Global South.
Friday, May 8
Location: McKenna Hall 215/216
2:30 Registration Open
3:00 Welcome
Michael Pries, Associate Dean for the Social Sciences & Professor of Economics, Notre Dame
3:15 Challenges of Debt Restructuring in a Multi-polar World
Ana María Ibáñez, VP for Sectors & Knowledge, Inter-American Development Bank
Kevin Gallagher, Professor of Global Development Policy, Boston University
Joshua Eisenman, Professor of Politics, Keough School Notre Dame
Moderated by Cesar Sosa-Padilla, Unversity of Notre Dame
4:30 Coffee Break
5:00 Keynote
Reza Baqir, Former Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, Managing Director of Sovereign Advisory Services at Alvarez & Marsal
Introduction by Shiza Kamil and Imaad Jafri, MGA students at the Keough School
6:00 Reception and Dinner
Location: Smith Ballroom at the Morris Inn
Grace by Msgr. Martin Schlag
Saturday, May 9
Location: McKenna Hall 215/216
8:00 Breakfast
9:00 Welcome
9:05 History of Debt Relief
Mark Wright, Senior Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Anna Gelpern, Professor of Law and International Finance, Georgetown University Law School
Aart Kraay, Chief Economist, Prosperity Vertical, The World Bank
Moderated by Zachary Stangebye, University of Notre Dame
10:15 Coffee Break
10:45 Vision & Hope for the Future
Gerald Powers, Director of Catholic Peacebuilding Studies, University of Notre Dame
Serah Makka, Africa Executive Director, One Campaign
Martin Schlag, Professor of Ethics, Opus Business School, University of St. Thomas
Moderated by Lakshmi Iyer, Unversity of Notre Dame & BIG Lab
12:00 Lunch
Location: McKenna Hall 205/6/7
For more information, please contact Michele Davies (mdavies2@nd.edu).
We are grateful to our sponsor, the Gates Foundation.