Higher Purpose: Managing for Social Impact and the Public Good
Carroll School of Management Assistant Professor Lourdes German co-directs Managing for Social Impact and the Public Good (together with Prof. Kenneth Himes) an interdisciplinary minor that explores the social impacts—as well as the personal and professional challenges—of managing a social mission-based organization.
The 18-credit program, created by faculty from 13 different departments in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences and CSOM, culminates with a practicum called Leading for Social Impact. After six semesters of studying corporate, nonprofit, and public sector organizations that foster the public good, seniors in the program get to work with one.
Typically, students work hands-on to manage a project, arranging calls and site visits to ensure its success. Of course, there was nothing typical about 2020, which forced the senior seminar to move online. In true BC form, German and co-director Professor Kenneth Himes turned a year of obstacles into opportunity.
We spoke with German, who shared her path to the social impact program, the pivot that allowed the practicum to succeed online, and the very real sense of higher purpose it brings students.
German also invited Himes and Professor Edward Frechette to chime in, along with Julia Homan ’21, who spoke for the other students on her team, Antonio Gillespie ’21, Elizabeth Uhl ’21, and Isabel Faherty ’21. Finally, BC alum Ann Bersani ’77 from Boston-based Project Hope sang the praises of the students she worked with, reinforcing the importance of Managing for Social Impact from a nonprofit’s perspective.
Q: Professor German, where are you originally from and how have your work and life experiences led you to this program?
German: My family is originally from the Dominican Republic, but I grew up in New York with a mom who was amazing and a teacher who has inspired me to pursue my passions and consider the fulfillment that comes from teaching others.
After graduating from law school, I pursued a career in finance and never realized how that path would allow me to make a difference in communities. I focused on public finance, which enabled me to be part of the ecosystem of stakeholders who help cities raise money for projects their residents need. I then translated that expertise to support a range of government, nonprofit, and social sector entities, including serving as an advisor to the United Nations to help counsel on how cities across the world could finance their sustainable development goals.
When I joined BC in 2018, it was wonderful to find ways to bring my expertise at the intersection of those disciplines to the classroom and to partner with Professor Himes to co-lead the Managing for Social Impact program for our students.
Q: 2020 was all about pivoting in the face of one crisis after another. How did last year’s events shape the Managing for Social Impact minor and, more specifically, your curriculum for the Leading for Social Impact practicum?
German: 2020 was a very difficult year for students and the world. Professor Himes and our wonderful faculty in Managing for Social Impact care deeply about students, and we considered how to give them the best experience, given the limitations COVID-19 placed on learning modalities. It most significantly impacted our senior seminar, “Leading for Social Impact,” a practicum Professor Frechette describes perfectly:
“Working with outside organizations on a real-world project, students explore a wide range of social issues and how the government, nonprofits, and for-profits might impact them, both positively and negatively. They also look inward to explore their own passion for addressing social issues—where it comes from and where it might take them.”
When COVID-19 made it impossible for us to structure the practicum with its traditional in-person element, we turned the challenge into an opportunity by recruiting projects from all over the world that students could engage with virtually in video conference meetings. Faculty did a wonderful job tapping into their own networks, and we explored new local and global partnerships to offer students a wider variety of projects than ever before.
Himes: I think one of the real benefits of this minor is that it allows us to use multi-disciplines to analyze and understand an issue in our society. It also allows those of us who work in the arts and sciences to apply managerial thinking to move theory into actual practice and social change.
Q: How many students do you have in this minor? What are they majoring in? And has interest in the program grown over the past year?
German: In the two years I’ve co-directed the program with Professor Himes, our student applications and enrollment continues to grow. We experienced over 100% growth in the last academic year prior to COVID and continued to grow this year to over 200 students enrolled in the program. Our students come from disciplines across BC, including business, education, environmental sciences, and nursing, and it’s wonderful to see them learn across these fields.
Q: The practicum gives students the chance to build marketing strategies, develop fundraising strategies, write corporate social responsibility policy, and more. What are some of the projects from the past year that stand out?
Frechette: One group of students is working with a local brewery on how to significantly reduce the amount of water they use in their brewing process. Another is advising a partner on what carbon offset options they should consider as they move toward their goal of zero emissions. In all cases, they’re exploring the impact of their recommendations on all the possible stakeholders.
Homan: My classmates and I had the opportunity to work with Social Impact Movement (SIM), a Miami-based nonprofit that strives to connect community members, leaders, government, and businesses to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Tasked with helping SIM expand its base of business partners, I learned an incredible amount working with SIM’s CEO and board members and collaborating with my teammates. I gained skills to create an effective pitch deck and communicate an organization’s value proposition. I learned aspects of funding a nonprofit, expanding my knowledge of the impact sector. Never before has a BC course given me the opportunity to work so closely with industry professionals. This project was truly a highlight of my semester and an experience that will have lasting impact as I strive to incorporate social impact into my life going forward.
Bersani: Carol Ann McAuliffe, a CSOM grad and the CFO at Project Hope, and I worked with four BC students in Managing for Social Impact to help make a program at Project Hope more robust. The students were great listeners and learners and very respectful in their approach, yet confident and creative in presenting their ideas. They seemed to genuinely enjoy and appreciate the experience and uncovered some very helpful information, paving the way for next steps.
Q: Finally, what are students saying about this minor and the practicum in particular? And what have graduates with this minor gone on to do?
German: Students who graduate from the program are doing amazing things in many realms of business, sustainability, nonprofits, law, education, and entrepreneurship. One student we’re very proud of is Katie Diasti (CSOM ’19), founder and CEO of the amazing sustainable social venture Viv for your V, which was recently featured in Forbes. I served as one of her Shea Center mentors for the Startup Accelerator program and was so impressed with how she combined her passion for entrepreneurism with social impact to come up with the idea for Viv. She continued to work on the company after leaving BC and is now running it full time.
Katie is a testament to the amazing things that can happen when students learn about the intersection of social impact with their chosen field of study and commit to living out their professional passions guided by a social impact lens. They give new meaning to BC’s mission of “men and women for others.”