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School of Business Administration

Peace with Profits

Are ethics alive in the workplace? Can a business make money and make the world a better place? Can you create sustainable value for stakeholders while also being a socially responsible political actor in the global economy?

Rev. Oliver Williams, C.S.C from the University of Notre Dame, will discuss these ethical business questions in his presentation “Can You Do Well By Doing Good?” during the 7th Annual Glennon Symposium at the University of Dayton School of Business Administration Friday, March 3, 2023, from 5:30-6:45 pm at the Kennedy Union Ballroom. Open to ALL University faculty, staff, and students. No registration is required.

"Business is not just about making money, it is also a way to achieve peace through respect for human rights and social responsibility."

Rev. Williams will delve into the idea that modern times should request more of business, that social expectations should be broadened, and that the social license to operate a business should be more demanding. He will also explore how doing well in business should continue beyond creating sustainable value for the stakeholders and making profits; it should also include doing good with the business by doing noble things to care for the least advantaged in unselfish ways above and beyond the enterprise’s profit aims—believing that the real power in the world is in business and that you can also use business as a vehicle to accomplish a big change.

"Aside from making money, doing business must have a common goal, and that is to create jobs, wealth, and improve the management skills of its workers.”

Rev. Williams is the editor or author of 22 books and numerous articles on business ethics. His articles have been published in the Harvard Business Review, California Management Review, Business Ethics Quarterly, The Journal of Business Ethics, and Journal of Corporate Citizenship, as well as others. A former Naval Officer, he earned his doctorate from Vanderbilt University and his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Notre Dame. He is a Catholic priest in the Congregation of Holy Cross and served as Associate Provost for the university from 1987 to 1994.

Along with his literary experience, Rev. Williams is the director of the Center for Ethics and Religious Values in Business and a faculty member at the University of Notre Dame.

In 2006, he was appointed a member of the three-person Board of Directors at the United Nations Global Compact Foundation. The United Nations Global Compact is the world’s largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative, with over 8,000 businesses worldwide as members.

Rev. Williams specializes in business ethics and corporate governance, as well as the importance of Catholic social teaching. Believing that effective business leaders must start in school and that universities must broaden their role of educating on bringing peace through commerce alongside the basics of financing, marketing, and accountancy. This belief is in line with the University of Dayton School of Business Administration’s mission of being a learning community committed in the Catholic and Marianist tradition to educating the whole person and to connecting learning and scholarship with leadership and service in an innovative business curriculum designed to prepare ethical leaders for successful careers in a global business environment.

The University of Dayton School of Business’s Glennon Symposium is co-sponsored by the Glennon Foundation and The School of Business Administration Center for the Integration of Faith and work.

Richard Glennon '50 and his wife Mary helped establish the Glennon Symposium to invite distinguished business ethics speakers to campus to talk with UD students. Glennon believed that these discussions would foster a view that sees business as a calling to serve our fellow humans and preserve our planet. Glennon was an entrepreneur, philanthropist, a former member of the board of trustees, and a longtime supporter of the University.  Glennon, who passed away in January 2023, said, "It's important for students and faculty to hear from a variety of people who actively integrate their Marianist culture in their professional and personal lives."

The first Glennon Symposium was in the spring of 2017, with guest speaker Dr. Kenneth Goodpaster's presentation “Ethics and Corporate Citizenship — Alive in the Workplace.” Goodpaster had been named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics by Ethisphere Magazine, received the Outstanding Career of Scholarship Achievement in Business Ethics award from the Society for Business Ethics in 2014, and authored the book "Conscience and Corporate Culture.”

The Glennon Symposium complements the Business as a Calling Symposium, which brings business executives to campus each fall and has become a hallmark of the School’s commitment to leadership with integrity. Business as a Calling explores the value of viewing a business career as a calling rather than simply a series of jobs, fostering a deeper sense of purpose and a greater social awareness while creating a culture of business integrity.

2023 Glennon Symposium Flier

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