McCombs Top 6 in U.S. for Social Responsibility

McCombs takes high marks for positive social impact in worldwide student assessment.

The McCombs School of Business is one of only six schools in the nation to be recognized for its positive societal responsibility and impact.

Thirty academic institutions worldwide made the Positive Impact Rating (PIR), an inaugural list of business schools that see their role extending beyond the basics of business and economics to solve broad societal challenges and prepare students to be responsible citizens and change-makers in the 21st century.

Other U.S. schools included Berkeley, Michigan, Georgia Tech, Fordham University, and the University of Vermont.

Several international student organizations (oikos, AIESEC, and Net Impact) joined forces with the World Wildlife Fund, OXFAM International, and UN Global Compact to launch the PIR, which debuted this month at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

PIR organizers reached out to nearly 100 highly ranked business schools worldwide, surveying 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students to assess their schools’ capacity to create a positive impact on the world. The survey considered school governance, culture, programs, learning methods, student and public engagement, and the institution as a role model.

Among the many constructive suggestions gathered in the surveys, students supported making sustainability and social impact training mandatory in curricula and encouraged schools to bring science and facts to the political debate. At the same time they suggested that schools stop partnering with unethical companies and over-emphasizing profit maximization.