Socially Conscious Programs Place McDonough School of Business #35 in "Beyond Grey Pinstripes" Ranking

School Climbs 38 Places in the Aspen Institute’s List

The MBA Full-Time Program at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business has advanced to No. 35 in the Aspen Institute’s 2009 “Beyond Grey Pinstripes” ranking, up from 73rd in 2007. The publication evaluates how well MBA programs demonstrate significant leadership in integrating social, environmental, and ethical issues.

“The ranking reflects the emphasis that Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business places on leadership, ethics, and service,” said Jett Pihakis, associate dean of the MBA Full-Time Program. “We believe in educating our students to become responsible business leaders who are committed to improving the world for themselves and others.”

Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business has a long tradition of socially conscious programming that continues to be enhanced through student activism, speaker series events, curriculum enhancements, and new initiatives.

This September, the Georgetown chapter of Net Impact hosted Social Impact Week, which featured lectures by Morgan Barr, an economist with the Sustainable Manufacturing Group of the International Trade Administration, and Todd Summers, senior program officer HIV/AIDS for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The group also sponsored a lecture by Jeffrey Hollender, founder and CEO of Seventh Generation. In 1993, Georgetown was a charter member of Net Impact, an international nonprofit organization that seeks to use the power of business to create a more socially and environmentally sustainable world.

In addition, Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business recently hosted a lunch for students with Silvio Gabriel, executive vice president of Novartis, to share an insider’s perspective on the Malaria Initiative and to solicit input from students as future thought leaders. Novartis is a global leader in pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and diagnostics that places emphasis on corporate citizenship.

This year, courses have been added to the MBA curriculum in the areas of Leadership and Management of Nonprofit Organizations and Corporate Social Responsibility as part of an initiative to develop new courses and programs in nonprofit management, social responsibility, and social marketing. During the summer, the administration hired William Novelli, former CEO of AARP and co-founder and former president of Porter Novelli, as a Distinguished Professor of the Practice charged with advancing this initiative through adding courses the curriculum, adding to the body of academic research on social responsibility, and performing outreach that brings together businesses and students in the area of corporate social responsibility.

A new emphasis also has been placed on social entrepreneurship, which is being spearheaded by Jeff Reid, the school’s new Director of Entrepreneurial Studies. A large part of Reid’s mission is to inspire students to think entrepreneurially, teach about entrepreneurship, foster connections among students and between students and business leaders, and create knowledge and scholarship about entrepreneurship. This fall, he has sponsored several events about social entrepreneurship, including an opportunity for students to meet with the authors of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.