Recently Unique Brathwaite, Lauren E. Graham, Janice Shade, Dr. Eban Goodstein and I co-authored the chapter “The Bard MBA in sustainability: baked in, not bolted on” for the book, Breakthroughs in Sustainable Business Education: Breakthroughs in Action. The text is an answer to the question of how to actively transition courses and programs, equipping students to lead the work of sustainability in an increasingly dynamic and complex world.
Not only am I thrilled to be in relationship with these global educators and change-makers, but I am also grateful for the challenge that the invitation posed: ‘how are we, Bard MBA, developing the next generation of globally responsive leaders” and even more, ‘how am I, Renay, participating in the development of the next generation of globally responsive leaders, when the world seems so dis-eased, on truly a global scale?’
In the process of co-authoring this chapter and eventually reading the chapters by our global colleagues, I was struck by the weight and responsibility of sustainable business educators to reimagine sustainable business education, and truly break-through the real and perceived barriers placed in front of us academically, politically, economically.
The Oxford English Dictionary tells us that as a noun, breakthrough means an act or instance of breaking through a physical barrier or boundary. And as an adjective, it represents a sudden or significant advance in knowledge or achievement; that represents an important development which removes an obstacle to progress.
John North, Executive Director, Globally Responsive Leadership Initiative, based in George, South Africa shared his observations on sustaining breakthroughs and posits that “an ongoing, inclusive, and collective call for deep systemic change remains crucially important and needs to span at least 3 broad domains: How we live and make a living together on one finite, flourishing planet; how we learn and facilitate learning in service of that life; and how we lead individually and collectively to enable both.”
We in the Bard MBA in Sustainability integrate those very three domains — plus the interactions of justice and equity throughout each.
To that end, my co-authors and I engaged in a meaningful dialogue around our actions in these three domains from our respective disciplines (you can read that conversation here!).
There is a tremendous amount of work that lies ahead of us to achieve a shared well being on a healthy planet. And it is work that students need to be equipped to do boldly and in new ways.
In addition to us sharing how we in the Bard MBA approach sustainable business education - with a focus on personal leadership development, accounting and the integrated bottom line, and justice in organizations and impacts, our colleagues from around the globe describe how business schools are changing to meet changing needs as well as provide concrete tools and tactics to transform business courses. This text is a must-read resource for business educators everywhere.