The Academics of Social Value Creation

Students are increasingly interested in using business principles to do good in the world. The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business has made a commitment to teaching students how to do so.

In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up, host Jeff Salkin sits down with Christine Beckman, associate professor of management and organization, to talk about her new roles as academic director of the Smith School’s Center for Social Value Creation. 

As academic director, Beckman’s focus is on coordinating the curricular offerings and bringing more attention to cutting-edge research on social entrepreneurship to the workings at the center. Her own research focuses on how organizations learn from one another, in particular how entrepreneurial teams and organizations develop over time given the past experiences of founders and early managers.

Beckman assumed her position just as the center was gearing up to co-host the fifth Ashoka U Exchange, the world’s largest convening for social entrepreneurship in higher education, Feb. 26-28, in Washington, DC. The conference brings together 650 university faculty, staff and administrators from 150 institutions to share ideas on teaching and learning social entrepreneurship. The Ashoka U Exchange coincides with CSVC’s seventh annual Social Enterprise Symposium on Feb. 27, which will be the featured student event during the Exchange. The daylong student event explores social, environmental, and economic change from a variety of lenses through sessions and workshops.