University of Maryland Selected to Pilot Program for Social Change

College Park, Md. – December 11, 2008 – The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business today announced it has been selected as an inaugural “Changemaker Campus” in partnership with Ashoka, a non-profit network of social entrepreneurs. Ashoka chose the University of Maryland as one of four U.S. campuses to develop a model for future university-based initiatives that will promote innovation and social change. Faculty and staff from the Smith School – with students from across the University of Maryland campus – will spearhead the effort, building on the school’s leadership in programs and research that encourage the creation of social value and socially responsible business practices. “Thanks to the leadership of the University of Maryland and the Smith School, and our other Changemaker Campuses, Ashoka is creating change today that will become the reality of tomorrow,” said Marina Kim, Ashoka’s university program director. “Our aim is to cultivate a generation of students ready to develop new approaches to difficult global problems while serving as a catalyst for new ideas and innovations.” The Changemaker Campus program kicked off in October with a weekend retreat and will run for 12 months. During that time the Smith School will work with Ashoka to create a working blueprint and inspiration for future Changemaker Campuses. The University of Maryland team will be led by Melissa Carrier, director of venture investments and social entrepreneurship at the Smith School's Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship. A multidisciplinary team of undergraduate and graduate students will focus on creating a campaign to generate campus-wide engagement and interest in social entrepreneurship. Following the project’s completion Ashoka staff will work to evaluate and codify the change process, including individual case studies. These best practices will be shared across Ashoka’s global university network of more than 350 professors at more than 100 universities. “We care about the world’s big problems. And we have the intellectual capital, creativity and entrepreneurial vision to contribute to big solutions,” said  G. “Anand” Anandalingam, dean of the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. “I’m pleased that Smith’s efforts as a Changemaker Campus will provide value to schools seeking to replicate our commitment to programs and research that effectively prepare students to lead in a world that needs both economic prosperity and transformative social change.” The Smith School offers world-leading research and programs in social entrepreneurship and social responsibility and places a priority on meaningful engagement with the vast array of non-profit organizations and governmental agencies in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Smith student-run organizations such as the undergraduate Society for Green Businesses and MBA-run Net Impact further emphasize student awareness and involvement in environmentally and socially aware entrepreneurship and business practices. About Ashoka and Ashoka’s Changemaker Campus ProgramFounded in 1980, Ashoka is the world’s working community of more than 2,000 leading social entrepreneurs. It champions the most important new social change ideas and supports the entrepreneurs behind them to start, grow, succeed, and collaborate on their ventures. As Ashoka expands its capacity to integrate and connect social and business entrepreneurs around the world, it builds an entrepreneurial infrastructure comprised of global initiatives that supports the fast-growing needs of the citizen sector. For more information, visit www.ashoka.org orwww.ashoka.org/changemakercampus

About the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of BusinessThe Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 13 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and part-time MBA, executive MBA, executive MS, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations on three continents — North America, Europe and Asia.