Kellogg Social Impact Club again among nation’s best

Net Impact competition recognizes Kellogg student efforts to enhance social responsibility in school’s culture

By Adrienne Murrill

Nov. 7, 2007 – The Kellogg School of Management’s Social Impact Club received honorable mention for this year’s Net Impact Chapter of the Year Competition. The club was one of only four schools with established Net Impact chapters to place in the contest.

Net Impact is a global network of MBA students and professionals with more than 125 chapters in more than 75 cities. Tied for second place with Kellogg were the clubs at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Management and the Yale School of Management. The winning chapter of the year award went to the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

“Social responsibility and experiential learning are two of the key pillars at Kellogg in the development of our students into global leaders,” said Senior Associate Dean Sunil Chopra. “Clubs and conferences provide students with important leadership and experiential learning opportunities in areas of their interest.”

The Social Impact Club is one of the largest clubs at Kellogg, with more than 400 members. Kellogg won the Chapter of the Year award in 2003, second-place in 2004 and hosted the Net Impact Conference in 2006. After Kellogg organized a very successful conference in 2006, Chopra added, it is wonderful to see the club receive recognition.

The club’s mission is to support and inspire Kellogg student interest in applying business skills for positive social impact through the nonprofit, public and private sectors. The club serves as a bridge for students who want to learn more about socially responsible careers.

“We’re most proud of the way we increased our impact at Kellogg across all sectors,” said club president Nicole Barry Dorn ’08. These changes include establishing a corporate social responsibility chair to connect students with careers in the private sector. In addition, the club has conducted a comprehensive review of the Social Enterprise at Kellogg Program (SEEK) with its director, Timothy Feddersen, the Wendell Hobbs Professor of Managerial Economics and Decision Sciences.

Another recent club initiative was the creation of a SEEK leadership council to coordinate the efforts of Kellogg clubs that are working to advance social responsibility, including Business With A Heart, the Global Health Initiative and the Neighborhood Business Initiative.

“Before, there was no central structure,” Dorn said. “We wanted to provide a place where club leaders could identify areas to collaborate.” Having this centralized structure, helps students and prospective students gain a better sense of how to get involved, she added.

The Kellogg Greening Initiative was recognized again for its winning performance this summer in the Net Impact Green Challenge, and the Chicago Professional Chapter of Net Impact was recognized as recipients of the Professional Chapter of the Year award.