Purpose-driven business
What if business success was measured by problems solved — not just profits generated? Our students, faculty and alumni tease apart complex issues, build businesses to address societal problems and improve the world at large, whether they are working to eliminate packaging waste, reduce disease on poultry farms, rethink the culture of banking or advance climate finance.
Business for good
Purpose-driven business means financial growth. Environmental responsibility. Ethical corporate governance. Fair labor practices. Attainable prosperity. Research, roundtables, conferences, projects, coursework and student experiences all contribute to a culture of business for good here.
Original research
Faculty publish research on a wide range of topics, including production friction and sustainable investing, index-based livestock insurance, climate change and GDP resilience, ESG factors and firm valuation and more.
Lectures & conferences
Experts on campus and beyond gather to discuss pressing issues at events like NYC Climate Week, the annual BenDaniel Lecture in Business Ethics, the Behavioral Decision Research in Management Conference, and the Smith Family Business Initiative programs.
Extension & outreach
College faculty and staff bring expertise and support to the broader community with programs like the Cooperative Enterprise Program, which strengthens community resilience, and NY FarmNet, which serves farmers in financial and mental health crises.
Protecting tourism assets
After hurricanes devastated parts of Puerto Rico, a team from the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise joined forces with the U.S. Forest Service to support sustainable tourism development at El Yunque National Forest, America’s only tropical national forest. Throughout the multi-year effort, they are enhancing regional planning, measuring social and environmental impacts, building public-private partnerships and stimulating tourism entrepreneurship.
Faculty with purpose
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Aaron Adalja (on leave)
Associate Professor; Grailer Faculty Fellowship, Center for Hospitality Research -
Kelly E. Posenau
Assistant Professor -
Sarah Wolfolds
Associate Teaching Professor; Academic Director of the Grand Challenges Program; Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Dyson School -
Emma Wang
Assistant Professor
Programs & opportunities
Every program at the college has a purpose. These are just a few that offer the chance to align your ROI with your values, whether you prioritize the environment or social good.
Grand Challenges Program
Dyson undergraduates develop both sharp skills and smart skills, from statistical thinking and data analytics to communications and leadership, that make them uniquely qualified to tackle pressing challenges.
MPS in Applied Economics & Management
MPS students can choose to concentrate in sustainable business and economic policy, learning how to design policies and management strategies that help organizations become better stewards of natural resources.
MPS in Real Estate
This two-year, residential graduate program combines real-world learning, international experiences, and a robust curriculum, with the option to concentrate in development and sustainability.
Two-Year MBA fellowships
MBA students can choose apply for various sustainable global enterprise fellowships, including environmental finance and impact investing, sustainable business and the Semlitz fellowships.
Cornell Business News
‘Double the damage’: Warming climate reduces milk quality and quantity
Heat stress on dairy cows not only decreases the amount of milk produced but also the fat and protein content, doubling the economic losses.
Climate change and wine grapes: Go, stay or change?
As the planet warms, wine-growing regions face an uncertain future. Should they double-down on what they grow or do something entirely different?
Low-cost solution to parasite, poverty at risk from possible NSF cuts
Cornell-led research on poverty and disease—and a path forward—faces uncertainty as federal science funding comes under pressure.
Smarter hurricane warnings save billions
Dyson School research shows better forecasts sharply reduce hurricane losses.
Sustainable Cornell supports operations, carbon neutrality and living laboratory research.
“Any person… any study.”
That was Ezra Cornell’s vision in 1865. It still guides us today.