December 06, 2016

4:00-5:00 p.m.

Free and open to the public; reception to follow.

Michigan Ross Campus, Ross Building, 701 Tappan, Colloquium, 6th Floor, Ann Arbor


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Andrew J. Hoffman
Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise
University of Michigan
About the talk

The notion of a calling is needed in business more than ever. Business is the most powerful institution on earth and if it is not solving our great challenges that society faces, they will not be solved. In this session, Hoffman will draw from his recently published book to talk about the ways in which students and managers are thinking of their career as a calling, and focus that work on environmental sustainability. He will talk about the ways in which business sustainability has been framed for the past 20 years and how it will be framed for the next 20. The lessons he will draw are applicable to a host of issues that go far beyond this one topic.

About Hoffman

Andy Hoffman is the Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan; a position that holds joint appointments at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business and the School of Natural Resources & Environment. Hoffman also serves as Education Director of the Graham Sustainability Institute.

Hoffman’s research uses a sociological perspective to understand the cultural and institutional aspects of environmental issues for organizations. In particular, he focuses on the processes by which environmental issues both emerge and evolve as social, political, and managerial issues. He has published over one hundred articles and book chapters as well as fourteen books, which have been translated into five languages. His most recent books include How Culture Shapes the Climate Change Debate, Academic Engagement in Public and Political Discourse, and Finding Purpose: Environmental Stewardship as a Personal Calling.

He has been awarded the Maggie Award (2013), JMI Breaking the Frame Award (2012), Connecticut Book Award (2011), the Aldo Leopold Fellowship (2011), the Aspen Environmental Fellowship (2011 and 2009), the Manos Page Prize (2009), the Faculty Pioneer Award (2003), the Rachel Carson Book Prize (2001), and the Klegerman Award (1995). His work has been covered in numerous media outlets, including The Atlantic, New York Times, Scientific American, Time, Wall Street Journal and National Public Radio.

He has served on research committees for the National Academies of Science, the Johnson Foundation, the Climate Group, the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, and the Environmental Defense Fund. Prior to academics, Hoffman worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Metcalf & Eddy Environmental Consultants, T&T Construction & Design, and the Amoco Corporation. Hoffman serves on advisory boards for ecoAmerica, Next Era Renewable Energy Trust, SustainAbility, the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, the Center for Environmental Innovation,  and the Stanford Social Innovation Review.

Fall 2016 Positive Links Speaker Series host

Kim Cameron, co-founder of the Center for Positive Organizations; William Russell Kelly Chair of Management and Organizations; Professor of Higher Education

Sponsors

The Center for Positive Organizations thanks University of Michigan Learning & Professional DevelopmentSanger Leadership Center, Tauber Institute for Global Operations, Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, and Diane and Paul Jones (MBA ‘75), for their support of the 2016-17 Positive Links Speaker Series.

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