Stressing the critical role of business schools as “agents of change,” educators and administrators representing 170 business schools and other academic institutions from 43 countries convened for a Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) Global Forum from Dec. 4-5 at UN Headquarters in New York City. PRME is a UN-backed initiative launched in 2007 to mainstream corporate responsibility in curriculum development, research and advocacy.

Dr. Rupak Rauniar, assistant professor of management in the Cameron School of Business, represented the University of St. Thomas at the two-day meeting to participate in series of discussions regarding the role of corporate responsibility, business ethics, and sustainable business in management education.

The University of St. Thomas Cameron School of Business is among the first 100 educational institutions to be signatories of PRME United Nations Global Compact. Currently, five Cameron School of Business professors serve on five different PRME committees including Dr. Beena George, Dr. Charlene Dykman, Dr. Michelle Simms, Dr. Jack Simms and Dr. Rupak Rauniar.

More than 260 academic leaders, as well as representatives of business, civil society and the United Nations attended the first Global Forum for Responsible Management Education, which was hosted by the United Nations Global Compact in collaboration with the Research Center on the Global Compact at the Neil D. Levin Graduate Institute of International Relations and Commerce.

In an outcome statement adopted at the Forum, PRME signatories pledged to place environmental, social and governance issues at the core of curriculum development for management education. “The current crisis has reinforced our view that the long-term viability and success of business will depend on its capacity to manage environmental, social and governance concerns and to create sustainable value through innovation and new business models adapted to a changing global environment,” the statement read.

PRME provides framework for academic institutions to advance corporate social responsibility through the incorporation of universal values into curricula and research.