Haub School of Business

Leadership, Ethics, and Organizational Sustainability

Why Leadership, Ethics, and Organizational Sustainability?
Sustainability is more than just a buzzword or a fad.  It is a way of thinking and acting with a concern for long-term viability.  For organizations to grow and be effective in the long run, leaders need to be concerned with ensuring economic health, ensuring the well-being of their employees, and ensuring prudent use of natural resources.  The Leadership, Ethics, and Organizational Sustainability major and minor are rigorous programs housed in a leading, accredited business school, and in a University that has taken the study and practice of justice seriously for over 160 years.

In this interdisciplinary program, students will learn the fundamentals of business through the Haub School of Business core curriculum.  Students will have the breadth of a liberal arts foundation offered by the University core curriculum, as well as focused classes in environmental sustainability through the integrative learning component of the core curriculum.  Through the required and elective courses in the major or minor, students will develop the conceptual and applied knowledge of how to lead ethically and sustainably.

Whether you choose the LEO major, which will provide a deep study of the principles of ethical leadership and the development of practical leadership skills, or the LEO minor, which will augment your major field of study with rigorous leadership development, students of this new program will be challenged with learning and living the Jesuit ideal of being Men and Women for Others.

Career Opportunities

The Leadership, Ethics, and Organizational Sustainability major and minor will offer students both short term and long term potential career opportunities.

a.    In the beginning of students’ careers specific knowledge and skills related to holistic leadership and organizational training will be very useful in the job market because of increasing employer focus on overarching sustainability issues.
b.    In the long term the major and minor will provide the foundation for the development of careers that culminate with overall corporate responsibility for sustainability. One recent corporate trend, for example, has been the creation of the position of “Chief Sustainability Officer” (CSO) with responsibility for integrating all related actions within the company, as exemplified by AT&T, Siemens, and DuPont.
c.    The skills acquired by students graduating with this major or minor (e.g. leadership, creativity, strategic decision-making, resource management, critical analysis, strategic planning, and broad world-view) are all attractive and relevant in a traditional corporate environment contributing to our graduates’ success if pursuing a position in the corporate world.
d.    This major or minor is a natural fit for students who wish to embark on a career in non-profit management since non-profits are commonly devoted to the social and/or environmental aspects of sustainability.