B-Schools That Give Back
Sure, you can volunteer your time, money, or labor no matter where you go, but check out what b-school students have done at the 2009 TeamMBA Award-receiving schools.
Boston University School of Management was awarded the 2009 All-School Award. Students at the school volunteer with such organizations as Dress for Success, Adopt‐A‐Family, and the Greater Boston Food Bank, consult with local nonprofit organizations, and engage in other activities with social responsibility and sustainability themes, including ForSE: Forum for Social Entrepreneurs. The initiatives enable students to put academic theory into practice in the field and integrate real‐world perspective with academic knowledge.
Baylor University Hankamer School of Business won the 2009 Service Award for Collaborative Program. More than 30 MBA students from the school volunteer regularly as business plan mentors for inmates in a local Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP). Assigned to individual PEP participants, Baylor MBAs spend at least an hour per week helping inmates with business plans. Additionally, Baylor MBAs help prisoners learn about business etiquette, making a sales pitch, and how to earn an MBA.
Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College, City University of New York, won the 2009 Service Award for Original Program. The Baruch College Honors MBA Program Financial Literacy Project is a student-driven response to the financial crisis. Recognizing that many consumers make bad decisions leading to debt they cannot manage, Baruch’s MBA students put their business expertise into action by educating young people on the benefits of budgeting, credit, and risk, encouraging a greater sense of responsibility and control over personal financial well-being. “I figured if I could help younger [people] shape good consumer behavior there would be more stable job opportunities in the future,” said Cindy Yuhsin Chang, the accounting student and class of 2010 honors MBA who developed the idea for the project.
Mississippi State University's College of Business won the 2009 Service Award for Philanthropy. Five groups of MBA students in Joel Collier’s strategic marketing management class baked, marketed, and sold cookies in the “Bulldog Challenge,” a one-day, on-campus cookie sale. “Whoever made the most (profit) won. Their grades depended on that,” said Tosin Alli, secretary of Mississippi State’s MBA Association. “Groups had different marketing strategies. Some had a low-cost strategy. Others had really elaborate packaging and had a premium on their cookies.” Location on campus also ended up being an important factor, he said. Aside from offering students hands-on experience similar to starting a business and operating in a highly competitive environment, the event also netted a $7,400 donation to United Way.
University of Central Florida DeVos Sport Business Management Program won the 2009 Service Award for Volunteer Engagement. Since 2007, the Hope for Stanley Alliance, a non-profit organization founded by students in the DeVos program, has given more than 600 volunteers the opportunity to rebuild the homes and lives of New Orleans residents affected by Hurricane Katrina. Last August, MBA students contributed more than 1,100 hours toward rebuilding homes.
University of Navarra IESE Business School won the 2009 Service Award for Educational Initiatives. The Doing Good and Doing Well Conference, a two-day event presented by the IESE Responsible Business Club, is Europe’s leading student-run conference on responsible business. It brings together hundreds of business school students, social entrepreneurs, industry experts and professionals from around the world to discuss current trends and initiatives on such topics as social entrepreneurship, corporate responsibility, microfinance, healthcare, energy and environment, and careers. The conference also includes a “cleantech” seminar designed to spark venture capital investment in start-ups.
