About
The Center for Education on Social Responsibility was established to help students become outstanding business leaders of tomorrow by preparing them to meet the ethical challenges posed by a highly competitive, globally-connected business world. It is the purpose of CESR to oversee the inculcation of values discussions in classes throughout the undergraduate and graduate curricula at the Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado.
Through the work of CESR the Leeds School of Business has the distinction of being one of the only public business schools in the country with a substantial infusion of values and social responsibility throughout all years of the business program. Dr. Donna Sockell discusses the CESR program in the videos below.
The purpose of CESR
How CESR started and where it is going
Description
CESR is a curriculum initiative designed to prepare the students of tomorrow to meet the ethical business challenges of today. The current business world poses a highly competitive, globally connected environment which, to be successful, requires ample preparation. CESR is responsible for the infusion of values discussions throughout the required curriculum at the undergraduate level, and the offering of cutting-edge electives and social responsibility classes for MBA students.
Key Offerings
- BCOR 1010: “Introduction to Business”: a freshman-level course infused with discussions of values and the role of business in society
- BCOR 3010: “Business Applications of Social Responsibility”: a course required of all juniors
- CESR 4000: “Leadership Challenges: Exercises in Moral Courage”: an upper-division elective based on the visits of six high-level executives who present ethical dilemmas they have faced; students then present recommended resolutions to the executives
- CESR 4005: “Business Solutions for the Developing World: Learning through Service”: an upper-division elective, which provides students the opportunity to develop proactive business strategies to make an impact on global poverty
Highlights
- Establishing CESR as a center, now a defining program of the college
- Expanding the CESR undergraduate program, which is unique among public universities
- Establishing the Certificate in Socially Responsibility Enterprise (SRE)for undergraduate students
- Continuing success of Introduction to Business, with four sections offered to business students and three summer sections for Arts and Sciences students
- Continuing success of the junior-level-required BCOR3010 with 15 sections now offered
- Continuing success of Leadership Challenges, which is rated the top course in the college in each of the three years it has been offered
- Overseeing the development and implementation of the senior-level capstone classes in each division and infusing each with value discussions
- Revising the MBA-level elective class on sustainability: “Topics in Sustainable Business”
- Continuing success and expansion of the Leeds-wide Professional Mentorship Program, a two-year program beginning in Leeds students’ junior year
- Hosting of the successful second annual Conscious Capitalism Conference
Conscious Capitalism Conference
The Conscious Capitalism Conference, hosted by CESR takes place every March. The next conference, Conscious Capitalism 2012: Harnessing the Engine of Business for Social Impact, is scheduled for Wednesday, March 7th, 2012.
More information about the 2012 Conference
More information about the 2011 Conference
Conscious Capitalism Conference 2012: Harnessing the Engine of Business for Social Impact
Today's business students get it. They know that "business as usual" is not serving the society in which they will work and live, but may not know how to effect change.
- What if they could engage with CEOs who are making the "new fashioned way"?
- What if they learned how to fuse the fundamentals of capitalism with integrity, higher standards and consideration of all stakeholders?
The Conscious Capitalism Conference challenges the thinking and stimulates the creativity of great business leaders of tomorrow by exposure to great business leaders who have made values-driven choices today. For the Annual Conscious Capitalism Conference CESR assembles an influential group of business leaders and entrepreneurs who have created remarkable enterprises.
These business people and entrepreneurs speak from personal passion and experience about how they use the traditional tools of capitalism to serve a social need. It is our hope that the highly selective group of students invited to the conference will be motivated and inspired by these great leaders and will actively engage with conference speakers in the significant time allotted for dialogue.
Values, Social Responsibility and Sustainability
Sustainability
The purpose of CESR, founded in 2007, is to advance the Leeds School’s commitment to preparing future leaders to confront the social, environmental, and ethical challenges, as well as the economic issues, faced by modern business. This mission is consistent with the intent of the Leeds family endowment that named our school.
CESR promotes the discussion of values and the role of business in society throughout the curriculum. It designs required and elective courses that challenge students to evaluate business behavior along environmental, social, and ethical dimensions. These courses ask students to decide what type of business leaders they will seek to be and the nature of businesses they will run.
CESR is responsible for the required, foundational courses on social responsibility at the undergraduate and graduate levels and has developed key modules for these courses dedicated to discussion of social and environmental sustainability. In addition, CESR works with other departments and programs to develop and deliver sustainability content across the curriculum.
Values-Driven Entrepreneurs Building a Sustainable World
The Leeds School of Business has a long-standing commitment to sustainable business practices that stretches back more than 20 years. The Leeds School believes that environmental stewardship and social responsibility are consistent with running a profitable business. Indeed, a central message underlying the entrepreneurial emphasis of the school is that enormous opportunities exist to “do well by doing good” in environmental, social, and ethical terms, all while maintaining and enhancing economic sustainability.
The Leeds School’s overarching goal with its sustainability initiatives is to educate and inspire students to become values-driven leaders who create sustainable businesses and develop new innovative models that transform how we do business in all sectors. It is noteworthy that a broad array of Leeds’ business partners, such as the natural and organic products industry in Boulder, the sustainable real estate development community, and the burgeoning Colorado renewable energy industry, have all contributed significantly to the realization of this goal. In addition, local and nationally-recognized, values-driven business leaders are woven into the Leeds educational experience; students regularly engage with such leaders in the classroom and the workplace through projects, speaking engagements, and internships.
Leeds students benefit from the wide array of sustainability activities at CU-Boulder, which nicely complement their sustainability-oriented coursework at the Leeds School. The CU campus was recently named the #1 US green campus by Sierra Magazine; is top-ranked as a sustainable campus by the Sustainable Endowments Institute; and was selected to be an Ashoka Changemaker campus for its interdisciplinary program on social entrepreneurship.
A Collaborative Approach
Sustainability is a collaborative effort at the Leeds School, combining the efforts of the Center for Education on Social Responsibility (CESR), the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship, and the Real Estate Center, as well as the efforts of individual faculty members and divisions. CESR focuses its efforts on promoting a discussion of values and on corporate social responsibility; the Deming Center specializes in environmental, food, and energy sustainability; and the Real Estate Center a leader in the integration of sustainable principles into into real estate and development. The Real Estate Center’s Initiative for Sustainable Development provides partnerships, advisory services, research and teaching. Together, these organizations and the faculty of the Leeds School offer a full spectrum of opportunity for students seeking to immerse themselves in learning about social and environmental challenges in business settings. Courses of study and experiential opportunities involving sustainability are available to graduate and undergraduate students alike.
The Undergraduate Program
Leeds offers a top-notch, innovative program that exposes undergraduates to issues of ethics, social responsibility and sustainability by integrating these topics into the entire undergraduate curriculum required of all students. In their foundational freshman course, Introduction to Business, students are introduced to concepts of corporate responsibility and sustainability. Business Applications of Social Responsibility follows in the junior year and a senior seminar caps the students’ exposure to both social and environmental sustainability. In addition to these core courses, students can take elective courses such as:
- Leadership Challenges: Exercises in Moral Courage
- Business Solutions to Global Poverty: Learning through Service
- Finding Business Opportunities in a Resource-Challenged World
- Sustainable Operations
- Accounting/Finance Energy Seminar
- The Business Role in Meeting Environmental Challenges
- Microfinance
Students also have the opportunity to take related courses listed in the CU Boulder catalog and to engage in joint projects with engineering students who are engaged in the study of sustainability.
The MBA Program
The MBA core includes a course in ethics and corporate social responsibility, the Socially Responsible Enterprise, and students may create a sustainability portfolio with elective courses. MBA students can choose among the following sustainability-oriented electives offered within the Leeds School:
- Sustainable Business
- Survey of Best Practices in Sustainable Real Estate Development
- Sustainable Venturing
- Social Entrepreneurship in Emerging Markets
- Commercializing Renewable Energy Technologies
- Microfinance
At both the undergraduate and MBA levels student teams have the opportunity to collaborate with business partners and students from other schools on the C.U. campus on real-world
projects. In addition, they can choose from numerous other sustainability-oriented courses at CU Boulder for their elective courses. The Leeds School also offers a combined MBA/MS degree in partnership with the CU Environmental Studies program.
Center for Education on Social Responsibility (CESR)
The purpose of CESR, founded in 2007, is to advance the Leeds School’s commitment to preparing future leaders to confront the social, environmental, and ethical challenges, as well as the economic issues, faced by modern business. This mission is consistent with the intent of the Leeds family endowment that named our school.
CESR promotes the discussion of values and the role of business in society throughout the curriculum. It designs required and elective courses that challenge students to evaluate business behavior along environmental, social, and ethical dimensions. These courses ask students to decide what type of business leaders they will seek to be and the nature of businesses they will run.
CESR is responsible for the required, foundational courses on social responsibility at the undergraduate and graduate levels and has developed key modules for these courses dedicated to discussion of social and environmental sustainability. In addition, CESR works with other departments and programs to develop and deliver sustainability content across the curriculum.
The Deming Center for Entrepreneurship
The Robert H. and Beverly A. Deming Center for Entrepreneurship was founded in 1995, and adopted the tagline of “Entrepreneurs pioneering a sustainable world” in 2005 to represent its commitment to sustainable entrepreneurship. Deming Center programs offer tomorrow's entrepreneurial leaders an entrée into the fast-changing world of sustainable business opportunities, with a focus on the growing fields of clean technology and renewable energy. Students build on a rigorous foundation of skills and a network of creative entrepreneurs to help them put their ideas into practice.
In addition to providing courses in sustainable business operations and sustainable entrepreneurship, the Deming Center is also developing case studies on sustainable businesses in fields such as natural products and clean technologies. These cases are being used in mainstream business courses and are available online for use by faculty at other business schools.
Outside of the classroom, the Deming Center founded and runs the commercialization arm of RASEI, http://rasei.colorado.edu/ the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute run jointly by CU-Boulder and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory . The Center recently launched a series of RETool executive development workshops covering topics on renewable energy business, policy, and technology. http://leeds.colorado.edu/Deming/interior.aspx?id=8700
The Center also runs the Organic Business Initiative, an industry partnership with leaders in the natural and organic products business.
The Deming Center co-founded the annual Sustainable Opportunities Summit in 2006, and cohosts the event with CORE and the City of Denver. As part of the Summit, the Deming Center runs the Cleantech Venture Challenge that brings together student teams from around the world to share their venture-grade cleantech business plans.
CU Real Estate Center
The University of Colorado Real Estate Center was founded in 1996 to establish an academic program for real estate education and research. The program has been concerned with sustainable development since its earliest years. The Center recently created the Initiative for Sustainable Development specifically to promote best practices in sustainable land use and real estate development.
For undergraduates, the Center provides coursework in principles of real estate, real estate development, real estate finance, real estate law, and an academic internship. For MBA students, the Center provides coursework in real estate development, best practices in sustainable real estate development, real estate finance, real estate law, real estate economics, and project competition.
The Real Estate Center is also actively involved in a variety of both academic and industry oriented research projects, including Vail Resorts research to develop a “green development standards” handbook and database. The Center links students with internship opportunities and provides networking and job placement assistance.
Teaching sustainability across traditional business school boundaries
In addition to their own specific offerings, CESR, the Deming Center, and the Real Estate Center have built bridges to establish collaborative initiatives that cross traditional business school boundaries. For example, CESR and the Deming Center coordinate efforts on “values-driven entrepreneurship” to support not only social entrepreneurship but also the integration of values and sustainability principles into business models and practices. In 2010 CESR along with ICOSA Magazine, in collaboration with the Deming Center, cohosted a conference for business students in local universities on Conscious Capitalism.
The CU Real Estate Center’s 2009 conference on Climate Change and the New Frontiers of Urban Development was also cosponsored by the Deming Center. All three groups offer mentoring programs and share resources and ideas, preparing students for employment in the rapidly expanding field of sustainable business.
Opportunities for Student Involvement
Beyond the classroom, Leeds students can become involved in sustainability initiatives in a wide variety of ways. Examples include:
Events
Student groups
- CU Energy Club
- Net Impact Club
Other activities
- Mentoring and internships in sustainability-oriented firms
- Case studies and consulting projects for sustainable businesses and social ventures
Career Development
CESR collaborates with Career Connections in the Leeds School of Business to support the growing number of students who wish to explore careers and internships in the areas of social responsibility, sustainability and development. We have gathered and posted career information and resources to aid in the search for jobs in these non-traditional areas. In this way, CESR is integrated into not only the Leeds curriculum, but also into the mainstream of Leeds students' career development pathways.
Executive Partners
CESR Executive Partners for Better Business Leaders Tomorrow recruits executives to volunteer their time and skills to work with students at the Leeds School of Business and support CESR financially.
Executive Partners Engage with Leeds School Students
Executive Partners choose their level of involvement. Their volunteer time might be spent mentoring students on class projects, speaking to groups or classes, judging business case competitions, hosting interns or working with students one-on-one through the Professional Mentorship Program.
Executive Partners Support CESR Financially
In addition, each Executive Partner gives over $2000 per year to support CESR. Contributions fund the development of new courses, curriculum design and improvement for undergraduate and graduate classes, salaries for instructors, and the creation of corporate case studies focused on social responsibility. Donations also enable students to visit project sites in the U.S. and abroad to further enhance the consulting work undertaken through social venture and entrepreneurship courses.
EPs Speak About Their Inspiration
Cindy Lindsay
“CU students face an ever more competitive and complex world when they graduate. CESR equips them with business skills that provide a strong base for ethical decision making with an understanding of economic and business consequences. My personal philosophy is to balance business with social responsibility, so I am very happy to be a small part of this exceptional curriculum. The creation of the CESR Executive Partners Program adds a critical component for CESR students. EPs mentor and coach CESR students which makes a tremendous difference in their academic career; but, more importantly, it gives them an opportunity to see people and processes of the working world that would otherwise be unavailable to them.”
Cindy is the Board Liaison to the EP Program.
Rich Hoops
“The fun of working with the students is what draws me to CESR’s Executive Partners Program. I mentored two student teams last year in Francy Milner’s undergraduate class, Business Solutions for the Developing World: LearningThrough Service.In one case there was an NGO in Kenya who wanted to explore the opportunity to establish a voluntourism program where customers pay to volunteer. My experience in international development and passion for social entrepreneurship led me to CESR. I am mentoring teams again this fall. Students today are passionate about making a difference and are eager to learn through “real world” experiences and mentorship. Whatever help I can provide, being a part of the Executive Partners Program is really rewarding”.
Join Us
If you are interested in serving as an Executive Partner please contact Cindy Lindsay, the Board Liaison to the Executive Partners Program, for more information.
Contact:
Current Participating Executive Partners
Cindy Lindsay
Cindy Lindsay is a principal and founder of FLS Associates, a consulting firm that provides strategic business and operational planning to technology start-ups to assist them in structuring their ideas and products into businesses that attract significant venture funding.
Rich Hoops
Rich Hoops began his 14-year career in the personal computer industry in 1986 with Tandy Corporation. In early 1989, he was recruited to Austin, Texas to join Dell Computer Corporation embarking on an exciting 11 year career with Dell where he held a variety of senior management and executive positions in sales, marketing and business development contributing to Dell’s ascent from a small direct marketing company to one of the world’s largest and most successful PC Company.
After leaving, Dell in 2000, Rich founded, and served as CEO of Outdoor Intelligence, a startup focused on delivering digital map information and data to the recreational fishing industry. In the fall of 2001, while still running his new company, Rich became involved with Social Venture Partners, a nonprofit organization whose partners invest both time and money in the development of small, innovative area nonprofits.
After transitioning out of his start-up in 2002, Rich has dedicated more and more of his time towards assisting area nonprofits in building operational/organizational capacity through strategic consulting and general business coaching. Rich continues to serve on the Board of SVP where he served as Board Chair from 2004-2006. Rich has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and an MBA from the University of Chicago with an emphasis on Entrepreneurship and Organizational Strategy. He and his wife, Traci, have four daughters and live in Boulder, CO.
Larry Meadows
Larry Meadows is CEO of American Exteriors, LLC. American Exteriors manufactures and sells replacement windows, siding, and other products that improve the energy efficiency and appearance of an existing home. Incorporated in 1993, American Exteriors offers a replacement process that begins with in-home consultation and ends with the certified installation of a custom manufactured product.
W. Douglas Jackson, Ph.D., J.D.
Dr. Douglas Jackson is president and CEO of Project C.U.R.E. Since joining the organization in 1997, Jackson has led efforts to expand the organization’s work both in the United States and internationally. Currently the largest organization of its kind in the world, Project C.U.R.E. delivers on average two 40-ft. cargo containers of donated medical relief every week from four U.S.-based distribution centers and has worked in more than 120 countries in its 22-year history.
Prior to joining Project C.U.R.E., Jackson was the provost at Colorado Christian University in Lakewood, Colo., and previously the director of the Fermanian Business Center at Point Loma University in San Diego, Calif. Jackson’s experience also includes working as an attorney, law clerk, judge’s clerk and assistant court administrator.
Dr. Jackson holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Northwest Nazarene University, a Juris Doctor from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a doctorate in business administration from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
In the community, Jackson is a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow and the past president of the Denver Rotary Club #31. He is currently active in the work of two other nonprofit organizations: Institute for International Education and Leader’s Challenge.
J. Scott Pusey
J. Scott Pusey is the Vice President of Safety Environment and Risk Management for Johns Manville, a leading global building materials manufacturer with headquarters in Denver, Colorado. Scott has 21 years of diverse experience in risk management, compliance and legal roles.
In his current executive leadership role that he has held since 2004, Scott leads various functions for Johns Manville which has more than 40 manufacturing locations in the United States, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Slovakia and China. These functions include Insurance, Health, Safety & Environment, Workers’ Compensation, Product Safety, Real Estate and Corporate Security. Scott also leads the Sustainability strategy for Johns Manville. A major area of specific interest for Scott is Enterprise Risk Management. Scott has also had roles in Finance Planning and Analysis and as a full time process improvement leader in the company’s Six Sigma program.
Scott’s legal experience includes six years in private practice with top corporate law firms in New York, NY and Denver, CO and six years as in-house counsel with Johns Manville in a series of roles with increasing levels of responsibility including division counsel for $600 million business.
Scott received his Juris Doctor degree from Columbia University School of Law in New York City and a Bachelor of Science degree from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah with a major in General and International Business and a minor in Japanese. He has completed advanced training in facilitation, project management, statistical analysis, leadership skills, metrics, process analysis and has provided legal advice and counseling in all aspects of business operations, including distribution, procurement, products liability, product warranty, antitrust, acquisitions, joint ventures, advertising and general commercial counseling.
Scott has been married for 24 years to Jenifer and they have four children. Scott actively pursues involvement in many different sports, art, and web design and he regularly volunteers at his church and for various non-profit organizations.
Karen Padgett
Karen Padgett is the president and founder of Novus Biologicals. Novus Biologicals was founded in 1996 to license, produce and sell antibodies to support life science research. Novus has been an Inc 5000 fastest growing company the last 5 years, as well as recipient of Colorado Companies to Watch, and Fast 50. Karen has an MBA from The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and a BS in Microbiology from Indiana University. Karen is a member of Young President’s Organization, and serves on the Board of Trustees for Kent Denver School, AMC Cancer Foundation and Breakthrough. In her spare time she enjoys running, reading, traveling, golfing and spending time with her husband Todd and her three teenagers – Tyler, Ryan and Allie.
Newsletters
May 2012
April 2012
January 2012
December 2011
October 2011
September 2011
July 2011
January 2011
July 2010
Mission & Vision
Mission Statement
To develop socially conscious, values-driven leaders of tomorrow.
Vision
To become the recognized leader in education on values and social responsibility.
Curriculum Think Tank
July 25-27, 2012
Purpose: To have a roundtable discussion with select schools from around the country to develop and share our approaches to corporate social responsibility and curriculum development.
Expected Outcomes
- To determine how to incorporate executives into curricular development
- To determine best practices for executive outreach initiatives
- To determine and define undergraduate and graduate curriculum in this area
- To weigh the benefits of an infused, cross discipline approach to versus a stand alone course on CSR and values based curriculum
- To define as a group what the goals and the function of courses in this area should have
- To determine how, if at all, to incorporate experiential learning components to courses in this discipline
- To evaluate the applied ethics versus a theoretical approach to curriculum
- To as a group plan for future conferences on education on CSR, ethics, and curriculum development in these areas
Attendees
- Jan Bell
- Cathleen Burns
- Richard Butler
- Patrick Cullen
- John Delaney
- Jennifer Dunn
- Bruce Hutton
- Mary Beth Lewis
- Scott Showalter
- Donna Sockell
- Liz Stapp
- Lee Tavis
Courses
Undergraduate
A required preparation course for beginning business students to gain an understanding of business aspects, what they are, how they're applied, and their importance in the functionality of the business.
Syllabus
Undergraduate
Explores alternative views of the role of business in our global society are explored through detailed case analyses, beginning with the free market view. Students encouraged to isolate and articulate their personal values that will shape business conduct.
Syllabus
Undergraduate
Focuses on values and leadership at the top level of organizations. Organized around six visits by high-level executives who will share information about several critical business dilemmas they have faced during their careers.
Syllabus
Undergraduate
Develop sustainable business strategies to meet the real-world needs of small business entrepreneurs in developing countries.
Syllabus
Undergraduate
In a time when technology allows unprecedented aggregation of personal
information, use is moving faster than social norms and laws can follow.
In this class, we will dissect the technologies and social trends related
primarily to privacy and use of information about individuals to reap
profits.
CESR 4832: Microfinance
Undergraduate
In the last two decades, microfinance initiatives have provided the primary worldwide impetus to promote economic independence for poor (1.4 billion). Microfinance seminar links the financial markets with entrepreneurship to create a platform for building a microfinance institution that facilitates financial inclusion to the poor. The students in a semester long project build a hypothetical financial institution that provides access to credit, saving, insurance and more to a segmented poor population, somewhere in the world including U.S. Participants learn how to combine technical knowledge of finance and development with entrepreneurship to help with sustainable economic development and to reduce poverty worldwide. Also listed as FNCE 4832.
MBA
Prepares future managers for confronting the truly difficult situations that arise when deploying economic resources, altering the physical environment, and making decisions that affect the lives of investors, employees, community members, and other stakeholders.
Syllabus
MBA
We provide a comprehensive overview of the core concepts, strategies and practices of sustainable business. To do so, we orient the class around a list of “top 50” concepts in sustainable business, with an explicit goal of addressing each topic, to varying degrees, over the course of the semester.
Syllabus
MBA
Approaches to solving global social and environmental problems that have not been effectively addressed by government, business or traditional NGOs and non-profit organizations.
Syllabus
Undergraduate
Sustainable Operations examines business strategies in response to environmental and social challenges. The course takes a pragmatic business perspective on improving operations across the value chain. Grounded in eco-efficiency, life-cycle thinking and a dose of investigative skepticism, the course assists students to thoroughly understand the scope of costs, benefits and risks associated with driving toward sustainable operations. Provides students with practical knowledge and hands-on experience in developing sustainable business strategies to meet the real-world needs of small business entrepreneurs in developing countries. Students teams work with Peace Corps volunteers and other social entrepreneurs who are addressing social and environmental issues. Prerequisites: BCOR 2150 or 2300 and 52 hours completed. Also listed as CESR 4130.
Syllabus
Certificates
CESR offers the Certificate in Socially Responsible Enterprise (SRE) to further develop students’ ability to meet these future challenges by crossing the boundaries of traditional functional areas of business and those that separate business from other academic disciplines. Students who complete the certificate will see and understand the social and environmental impacts of business and their ethical implications from a broader perspective. They will also graduate with practical knowledge and marketable experiences that will guide them in conducting business in an informed, responsible, and ethical manner.
Requirements
Blog
Posted: May 21, 2012
Q. Peter, you and the Celestial Seasonings staff have generously hosted the annual CESR Leadership Challenges Alumni Event. Everyone has a terrific time in the lovely Celestial surroundings with its superb and gracious staff, delicious food and drink, and fun … Continue reading →
Posted: May 21, 2012
Before starting her career as an auditor with Deloitte next September, Diana Dreman (ACCT ’11), will finish up her year of volunteer service as Miss Colorado, rappel off a building, then spend four weeks in Africa working in an orphanage. … Continue reading →
Posted: May 10, 2012
When a new generation of young leaders unites, applying their careers to solve challenges across six continents, energy and motivation run rampant. This is the atmosphere at Net Impact meetings, events, and competitions. For the past four years, CESR … Continue reading →
Video
The Center for Education on Social Responsibility's (CESR) Annual Conscious Capitalism Conference offers students a unique learning opportunity to be inspired by business executives who are succeeding in their work and making values-based decisions. This conference is an opportunity for Leeds students to engage with top business students and professionals from around Colorado.
Advisory Board
-
Gary Antonoff
- President
- Antonoff and Company
-
Peter Burns
- General Manager
- Celestial Seasonings
-
Rich Hoops
- Former Chair, Social Venture Partners
- Former Marketing Director, Dell
-
Cindy Lindsay
- Principal
- FLS Associates
-
Dee Perry
- Former CFO
- McDATA Corporation
-
George (Geoie) Writer
- Founder
- Writer Homes
News
Leeds School of Business
February 29, 2012
Business entrepreneurs encourage business students to develop the skills to be competitive and socially responsible at the Third Annual Conscious Capitalism Conference on March 7.
9 News
January 12, 2012
As part of a class research project at the Leeds School of Business, it was discovered that 21 of 90 dating websites did not properly remove location data from photos uploaded by their users.
Bloomberg Businessweek
January 11, 2012
Dean David Ikenberry and CESR Director Donna Sockell discuss the need for today's business schools to infuse ethics and social impact considerations into every aspect of the curricula.
Leeds School of Business
January 12, 2012
A research project conducted by an Information Management class at the Leeds School reveals that photos on some dating websites still contain GPS data which could compromise user safety.
Conscious Leaders blog
October 16, 2011
The Leeds School of Business and its courses in corporate responsibility are credited in this blog post about the critical need for development and thought leadership in business education for emerging business leaders in conscious capitalism.
Past Events
Conference
March 7, 2012
8:45 am – 3:30 pm
Wolf Law
Courtroom 250
2450 Kittredge Loop Road
Boulder, CO 80309
The Conscious Capitalism Conference challenges the thinking and stimulates the creativity of great business leaders of tomorrow by exposure to great business leaders who have made values-driven choices today.
Event
October 10, 2011
Jim Edgar served as the 38th Governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999, and has been recognized for having one of the most ethical administrations in that state's recent history. Former Governor Edgar spoke with CESR's leadership challenges course this past October.
Conference
March 2, 2011
Wolf Law Building
University of Colorado Boulder
In partnership with ICOSA Magazine and Colorado State University, the Center for Education on Social Responsibility presented the second annual Conscious Capitalism Conference on Wednesday March 2nd, 2011. The Conscious Capitalism Conference challenged the thinking and stimulated the creativity of great business leaders of tomorrow by exposure to great business leaders who have made values-driven choices today. CESR assembled an influential group of business leaders and entrepreneurs who have created remarkable enterprises. These business people and entrepreneurs spoke from personal passion and experience about how they used the traditional tools of capitalism to serve a social need. All who attended the conference were motivated and inspired by these great leaders.
Publications
Research
May 2011
Author: David B. Balkin
The aim of this paper is to conceptualize employees’ sustainable work abilities, or their long-term adaptive and proactive abilities to work, farewell at work, and contribute through working. Sustainable work is defined as to promote the development in personal resources leading to sustainable work ability.
Read/Download
Full Publication
Research
June 2010
Author: A. Peter McGraw
Humor is an important, ubiquitous phenomenon; however, seemingly disparate conditions seem to facilitate humor. We
integrate these conditions by suggesting that laughter and amusement result from violations that are simultaneously seen as
benign.
Read/Download
Research
October 2009
Author: David S. Payne
While entrepreneurial activity has been an important force for social and ecological sustainability; its efficacy is dependent upon the nature of market incentives. This limitation is sometimes explained by the metaphor of the prisoner's dilemma, which we term the green prison.
Full Publication
Research
March 2009
Author: Kai R. Larsen
This study presents an empirical investigation of factors affecting small- and medium-sized business (SMB) executives’ decision to adopt anti-malware software for their organizations.
Full Publication
Case Studies
Case Study
May 2011
Authors: Hailey Broderick, Heather Lowry, Nicholas Mooney, and Dr. Donna Sockell
Namasté Solar is a leading Colorado solar installer in the residential market. Colorado’s favorable market conditions attract new competitors, putting pressures on price and market share. Unusual management structure and values systems, and public incentive structures complicate a pending decision to grow the residential market or develop a commercial installation business. Students must analyze the solar market, public incentive structures and financial scenarios to decide how this renewable energy company should grow.
This case contains a selection of three case studies that can be used to: Discuss a company’s core values, culture, and vision and examine how the corporate culture should be maintained or adjusted as the company experiences rapid growth; and to analyze target market selection in the context of competition, financial returns, and core competencies.
Read/Download
