Social Entrepreneurship Grows Academic Legs
cial entrepreneurship requires students
to take a minimum of six electives, from
among a selection of courses like “Achiev-
ing Impact in Social-Purpose Organiza-
tions,” “Entrepreneurial Management in
the Social Sector,” and “Corporate So-
cial Impact Management.” Also offered
are “Entrepreneurial Finance,” “Exempt
Organizations,” “Community Economic
Development Law,” and “Business Strat-
egy for Environmental Sustainability.”
Similar curricular changes have tak-
en place in MBA programs at Cornell,
Berkeley, Dartmouth, New York Univer-
sity, and Stanford. Rankings are emerg-
ing, further heating up an already intense
College students were in new orleans to help clean up during their spring Break.
rivalry. Among the better known rankings
FEMa housed many of the college student volunteers in base camps in and around
is “Beyond Grey Pinstripes,” which also
town. Photo by FEMA
conducts a survey of MBA students.
The percentage of U.S. campuses re- ated by change as opportunities to cre- Work and study abroad
quiring students to take a course “dedi- ate value. The business goal may be to Schools are offering opportunities for
cated to business and society issues” has increase either social or financial capital, students to spend time in developing
increased from 34 percent in 2001 to 69 or both. countries working with non-profits, non-
percent in 2009. So reports the Aspen In- Social entrepreneurs are looking for governmental organizations, and social
stitute’s Center for Business Education in creative solutions to society’s most press- entrepreneurs. At Cornell University, for
Beyond Grey Pinstripes 2009-2010, also ing problems. Duke University professor example, students are working on ecot-
identifying 109 social entrepreneurship Gregory Dees says that social entrepre- ourism projects in Costa Rica and natu-
courses on respondent campuses. neurs are particularly effective when they ral food production projects in Africa.
Like sustainability, social entrepre- “attack the underlying causes of problems, Edward Mabaya, is a research associate
neurship means different things to dif- rather than simply treating symptoms.” in applied economics and management.
ferent people. In general, it takes its cue Duke houses its social entrepreneur- He and three Cornell students worked
from the business world’s ability to rec- ship curriculum within the business in Botswana last winter break, helping
ognize challenges and difficulties gener- school. The MBA concentration in so- launch a new natural food products com-
pany called WildFoods. “The field study
courses are a unique opportunity to in-
tegrate in-class learning, practical experi-
a college student
ence and outreach service,” says Mabaya.
puts wet moldy
“It’s great to see Cornell students apply
sheetrock into a
their skills and help a pioneering com-
pany like WildFoods.”
wheelbarrow to
Working with WildFoods founder
help clean up the
and CEO Frank Taylor clearly impressed
Martin Luther
Gretchen Ruethling, a Cornell graduate
King, Jr.
student in the Institute for Public Af-
Elementary
fairs. “He is using business to improve
the livelihoods of rural communities
school for
with limited income earning opportuni-
science and
ties,” she observes.
technology.
MBA programs in social entrepre-
Photo by Marvin
neurship attract students who want to
Nauman/FEMA
produce a positive social impact, not
just wealth. Results from a 2008 survey
44 T
oday’s
C
ampus subscribe at no charge at
www.todayscampus.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68