Business Education Symposium
Click here for information on the 2018 Symposium.
Symposium Background and Overview
The symposium aims to focus on exemplary teaching at the business and society interface. This conversation has a special emphasis on the changing market for business education itself and what these changes mean for the kinds of teaching that we at the Aspen Institute Business & Society Program have celebrated across the years: teaching that ensures students learn to work in ways that align business activities with the long-term health of society.
The Aspen Business & Society Program has a 15 year history of working with leading business schools and exceptional faculty to call attention to the most promising teaching and scholarship on business and society themes in management education. For over a decade, we published Beyond Grey Pinstripes, a comprehensive assessment of how well MBA programs were preparing students for social and environmental stewardship.
In 2012 we suspended that ranking to take a deeper dive into areas we believe to be of critical importance to the future of management education: helping students examine the purpose of the corporation and the interdependence of public and private interests; solving real world problems; and integrating the perspectives of the liberal arts into business classrooms.
With the 2013 Symposium, we marked the launch of this new phase of our work in business education. We set out to provide an experience that would inform and inspire those who attended. We believe that indeed participants gained both information and inspiration. Summing up the rich and lively conversation at the symposium is a challenge, but we have tried in the pages that follow to offer a glimpse at ideas that were exchanged.
Second Convening
Meeting our Highest Aspirations for Capitalism: October, 2014
In New York City on October 16–17, 2014, the Aspen Institute Business & Society Program hosted a Symposium focused on exemplary teaching at the business and society interface. This meeting brought together an impressive roster of corporate, academic and non-profit leaders, and identified ways for business schools to effectively prepare future leaders for the challenges of our complex economy, and to lead companies in ways that help build a vibrant economy for all.
This year’s Symposium had a particular emphasis on sourcing and employment practices—leveraging increased consumer demand for “responsible” labor practices and supply chains, and employer demand for graduates with strong operational skills.
The Symposium also featured dialogue with a small group of business executives from the Aspen Business and Society Leaders Forum and First Movers Fellowship, as well a celebration of the 2014 Aspen Faculty Pioneer Award Winners & Finalists. This year’s theme for the Awards was “the intersection of the public and private sector in value creation and problem-solving.”
Download the Report »
View the Agenda »
See the Participant List »
Access Teaching Resources »
2014 Faculty Pioneer Award Winners and Finalists »
Inaugural Convening
Meeting the Talent Challenge: September, 2013
In New York City on September 26-27, 2013, the Aspen Institute Business & Society Program hosted a symposium focused on exemplary teaching at the business and society interface. This conversation had a special emphasis on the changing market for business education itself and what these changes mean for the kinds of teaching that we have celebrated across the years: teaching that ensures students learn to work in ways that align business activities with the long-term health of society.
Our online curated resource for teaching faculty, www.CasePlace.org, now offers a portal – BizEd Symposium: Fall 2013 – that links directly to the content referenced during this symposium. We have posted syllabi and other materials to give viewers the opportunity to explore in much greater detail the innovative content and pedagogies presented at the symposium.
Download the Report »
See the Pictures »
Watch the Video »
Access Teaching Resources »
2013 Faculty Pioneer Award Winners and Finalists »