From Our Dean
“Business can be the single greatest force to build a better world—but only if business leaders have a better world in mind.”– Andrew Karolyi, Charles Field Knight Dean, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business
Engaged Learning for Every Business Student
The Cornell SC Johnson College of Business has intensified its commitment to immersive, community-engaged learning and impactful research with a broad range of partners, to become an engaged college at Cornell University.
Our goal is to have every student complete a community-engaged learning business experience where the goals and impacts of a hands-on project are critically assessed for its opportunity to build a better world. To see community-engaged learning in action, visit Experiential & Engaged, our Engaged College Initiative video collection.
The Experiential & Engaged College of Business video series has been launched. This page will feature a growing collection of stories about SC Johnson College students’ engagement with community and industry partners around the world. Know of a student engagement story you’d like to share? Send a tip to ml295@cornell.edu.
The Cornell-VinUni Vietnam ACE Pathfinders Teams of Cornell and VinUniversity undergraduates, guided by the Einhorn Center for Community Engagement, VinUniversity faculty, and NGO staff, addressed a research gap on the causes, intervention, and prevention of adverse childhood experiences in Vietnam. The project continued in-person during summer 2022. Read more here.
Cornell students and VinUni professors reflect on their collaboration. For the past year, Cornell students have worked with counterparts at VinUniversity on a research project for a Hanoi NGO, working in Vietnam this summer. TIn September, their Vietnamese professors came to Cornell, and the group shared reflections at Banfi’s.
The written critical reflection is an essential component to community engaged learning. In his Experiential & Engaged video, Nolan student Karl Lam explains this important tool.
In April 2022, Cornell students joined the 7th International CIBA Forum, funded by the Soft Landing experiential learning grant. This project will match student teams with international green tech businesses to bring industry and high-paying jobs to central New York State.
Our Engaged College Ambassadors joined the Cornell Business Forum conversation with David M. Einhorn and SC Johnson College dean Andrew Karolyi about the value of community engagement to all involved. Listen to the full forum.
Our Engaged College Initiative is an embodiment of Cornell’s land grant mission and university-wide ethos of public service to enhance the lives and livelihoods of students, New Yorkers, and people around the world. It also reflects the values and furthers the mission and vision of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, which seeks to address the greatest challenges of our times by developing principled, responsible, people-centered business leaders who create sustainable, shared prosperity.
In 2020, the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business became the first college in the university to receive an engaged college grant award from the David M. Einhorn Center for Community Engagement, to coordinate, elevate, and accelerate community-engaged learning at the college level. Watch our dean Andrew Karolyi in discussion with David M. Einhorn and three Engaged Ambassador students.
How This Works
The components of Community-Engaged Learning at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business: Criteria and Frameworks
One College, Three Engaged Schools
Our college’s three schools are connected by a shared ethos of engagement.
Grand Challenges @ Dyson on LinkedIn
The Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management
“Our business is a better world.”
The Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management
“Leadership that turns ambition into impact.”
The Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration
“Life is service – making a difference in others’ lives.”
Engaged College Initiative Leadership
Linda Barrington
Associate Dean of Strategy and Societal Impact, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business
Executive Director, Institute of Compensation Studies
Candace Maxian
Associate Director of Public Engagement and Experiential Learning,
Cornell SC Johnson College of Business
Engaged College Advisory Committee
The Engaged College Advisory Committee (ECAC) is comprised of faculty and staff who span our college’s three schools and academic areas, along with colleagues from across the university and the David M. Einhorn Center for Community Engagement.
The committee’s purpose is to:
- provide insight and advice on the opportunities and challenges for community-engaged learning (CEL) expansion across our college,
- socialize proposed action steps with colleagues,
- help devise and drive any specific changes to curricula and faculty practices,
- support fundraising strategic planning and solicitation, as appropriate, and
- be the key channel through which processes are drafted for re-distribution of block grant funds for specific college CEL activities
Engaged College Advisory Council Members
In Our Curricula
Our coursework provides many engagement opportunities. Here are several examples:
Dyson
“The Student Multidisciplinary Applied Research Teams (SMART) Program provided me with an opportunity to explore new cultures through consulting and research engagements, which has been extremely valuable to me as I consider how I can best use my business skillset to make a positive impact in emerging markets.”
–Alethia Chan, Dyson ‘22
Johnson
“The Sustainable Global Enterprise (SGE) Immersion was one of my most impactful and formative experiences at Johnson. Not only did it build a foundation for innovation, sustainability, and business, it also greatly advanced my teamwork and problem-solving skills.”
– Austin Blais, MBA ’20
Nolan
“The Nonprofit Social Enterprise and Food Justice course was an eye-opening experience. We learned how to leverage technology to bolster food access. It was a great way for hotel students to learn more about the nonprofit food industry and food social justice industry.”
– Kenny Chung, Nolan ‘23
In Our Co-Curricular Activities
SC Johnson College students gain experience in many ways outside the classroom.
Dyson
“We worked with Visions Federal Credit Union, who partnered with Zogo, a financial education app, that rewards users as they crunch through short modules about wealth management and other [educational] topics…This made me feel like I was someone critical, which I never thought I would get to feel coming in as a college freshman.
– Jennifer Wu Wu, AEM ’24
Johnson
Founded in 2010, the MBA Women in Investing Conference is designed to educate MBA students about the rewarding career opportunities available to women in investment management, a field in which women are vastly underrepresented.
Nolan
Hotel Ezra Cornell is Nolan’s annual student run expo. HEC 98, held April 20-23, 2023, will embrace the theme Expo – Envisioning a Sustainable and Equitable Future Through Global Hospitality.
“The industry is at a crucial turning point, and we are responsible for ensuring a sustainable future,” commented Amanda O’Leary ’24. Ellie Scherping ’24 added, “We want all of the students, guests, and speakers to leave HEC 98 with a newly inspired vision for the future of the hospitality industry and lessons on how to incorporate sustainable and equitable elements into their work.”
Learn more at Hotel Ezra Cornell’s website.
Engaged Student Ambassadors
Angelique Peregrina, Dyson ‘23
Engaged College Assistant
Angie Peregrina is majoring in Applied Economics and Management. Her community engaged learning experiences include the AEM 3600 Impact Learning in South Africa course and the SMART 2022-23 Program. In addition to working as administrative assistant for Engaged College lead Candace Maxian, Angie is an advocate for social equity and the diversity of thought and experiences in professional spaces through the Dyson Office of Diversity & Inclusion. She is also a co-chair for the DEI Business Advisory Council. Angie hails from southern Mississippi.
Marc Scocca, Nolan ’25
Nolan Engaged College Ambassador
Marc Scocca, Nolan ’25, a sophomore at the Nolan School of Hotel Administration, joined the Engaged College Initiative team in Fall 2022 as an Engaged College Ambassador. He has been expanding his knowledge of community engaged learning through a course offered by the Einhorn Center and has been applying that knowledge as a course assistant for HADM 1199.
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Hayden Adair, Dyson ’25
Dyson Engaged College Ambassador
Hayden is double-majoring in Applied Economics and Management & Environment and Sustainability. “The Engaged College Initiative of the SC Johnson College of Business is showing me the importance of sustainable business. Through my position as an engaged ambassador, I hope to contribute to the student perspective on sustainability, DEI, and charitable action.”
Bhavika Rathi, MS Eng ‘24
Engaged College Ambassador
The David M. Einhorn Center for Community Engagement at Cornell
The David M. Einhorn Center for Community Engagement at Cornell is supported by the Einhorn Collaborative. Working with a wide range of cultural influencers, researchers, community leaders and funders, the foundation helps Americans build stronger relationships, embrace our differences and rediscover our shared humanity — so we can solve our most urgent challenges, together.
Learn More!
Contact Candace Maxian, Engaged College Lead, for information or to get involved.