Beginning this fall, the University of Connecticut School of Business’ marketing department will offer both a concentration in marketing as well as a minor for business and non-business majors called Social Responsibility and Impact in Business.
The concentration/minor was added in response to “growing interest from UConn students,” according to a UConn Today article.
“We are thrilled to be offering this concentration/minor to provide students with the foundations to understand more about how business can be a force for good and the betterment of society, both locally and globally,” Dr. Robin Coulter, head of the School of Business’ marketing department, said in an email.
According to Coulter, the concentration/minor serves to prepare UConn students to become future business leaders and to address societal challenges.
“We strongly believe that this concentration/minor will assist our students in being better prepared as future business leaders concerned about making an impact and addressing the local and global challenges that society is facing,” Coulter added.
School of Business professor Stephen Park notes the importance of connecting business with society, according to the UConn Today article.
“There is tremendous value in thinking about business and society in an integrated manner,” Park said in the article. “Social responsibility, sustainability, economic insecurity, ESG, climate risk, social enterprise and a whole host of other environmental and social challenges and opportunities are all relevant to business.”
The program aims to help students identify the environmental and human rights impacts of business, analyze the evolving expectations of business organizations and leverage the legal and market drivers of sustainability, according to Dr. Rachel Chambers, an assistant professor at the School of Business.
Business Solutions for Societal Challenges, and Corporate Social Responsibility and Accountability are the two courses required for the concentration/minor.
For full completion of the minor, students also need to take The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business (BLAW 3175 and BADM 3720), as well as an additional three-credit 3000- or 4000-level BLAW course.
A new elective course called Sustainability, Markets and Society will be offered in the fall as well. According to Coulter, the course “can be used for credits toward completion of the concentration or minor.”
