Dr. Rob Garnett referenced everything from March Madness to Margaret Thatcher in his Thursday night lecture as a part of this year’s AddRan Distinguished Faculty Lecture.

The lecture, titled “Give, Take, Learn: Care and Commerce in Adam Smith’s 21st Century Humanomics,” discussed the value of non-commercial acts and their economic purposes.

The AddRan Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series is a yearly event designed to showcase a TCU professor’s area of expertise.

“It’s something I look forward to over the course of the year. It’s also an opportunity to showcase our very best,” said Andy Schoolmaster, dean of the AddRan College of Liberal Arts.

The lecture crossed lines between sociology, anthropology and economics, detailing non-commercial aspects of society necessary for the advancement of economics.

These aspects included disaster relief and recovery, volunteer time, mutual aid, professionalism, social enterprise, civic activism, financial giving and digital collaboration.

Blair Tyson, a first year engineering student, felt that the lecture complimented course material.

“In class, we’ve been talking a lot about globalization, and Garnett talked about how non-commercial things affect global economy, so that made it a lot more real,” she said. “It doesn’t just affect society, but economics and politics as well.”

The audience included professors as well as current and former TCU students. After the lecture, Garnett took questions and spend one-on-one time with visitors.