GSM Dean Asghar Sabbaghi served on panel at AACSB Annual Deans Conference
Saint Xavier University (SXU) Graham School of Management (GSM) Dean Asghar Sabbaghi recently attended the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) Annual Deans Conference, which took place February 5 to 7 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
During the conference, he served on a panel for the Responsible Management Education Affinity Group Workshop entitled, "Transforming Business Schools Toward Enabling Global Prosperity and Global Responsibility: Deans as Agents of Change." The objective of this workshop was for the deans to consider their roles as change agents by identifying barriers to change and sharing strategies for transforming business schools (vision/mission, programs, systems, and culture) toward enabling global prosperity and responsibility. Using a whole person and whole institution learning approach and collaborator methodology, the conversation involved our GSM, Saint Joseph University Erivan K. Haub School of Business, and the University of Guelph College of Business and Economics in Canada.
Graham School of Management is an advanced signatory of the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME). PRME is a United Nations (UN) Global Compact sponsored initiative launched in 2007 with the mission to inspire and champion responsible management education, research, and thought leadership globally. Under the coordination of the UN Global Compact and leading academic institutions, the PRME task force developed a set of six principles that laid the foundation for the global platform regarding responsible management education. The PRME provides a framework for business schools and universities worldwide to adapt teaching and research methodologies to the new challenges and opportunities facing businesses in the 21st century. AACSB International is one of the partners with the UN in supporting the mission of PRME and has an active affinity group meeting alongside AACSB meetings. GSM, an AACSB accredited institution, and as a signatory to PRME, is a member of an international group of institutions in the commitment to encourage social responsibility in the creation of a sustainable global economy.
Saint Xavier University, Saint Joseph University, and the University of Guelph in Canada, were invited this year to share their strategies and experiences in integrating these UN principles of responsible management into their business education.
The Catholic identity inspired by the heritage of the Sisters of Mercy of SXU has provided an excellent opportunity for the alignment of the University mission statement with the principles of responsible management education. Therefore, GSM welcomed this opportunity and became one of the advanced signatories of PRME in the fall of 2015.
During the conference, Dean Sabbaghi reported on the commitment in considering PRME as an integral part of the strategic planning at GSM and believing its potential role in transforming SXU students for successful leadership with PRME principles, and as a transformational roadmap. He also reported the progress in multidimensional integration of these principles into the GSM curriculum, co-curricular, internship, service learning, organizational practices and daily operation, and the culture of our school, as well as part of our research agenda.
GSM has developed a website for PRME and has integrated it into their website to better communicate its commitment to teaching ethical values, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility; as well as, the belief that its own organizational practices should serve as example of the values and attitudes conveyed to SXU students.