Wharton European Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative Receives $1 Million

July 18, 2005 — The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania announced that it has received $1 million from current and former members of the Wharton Executive Board for Europe, Africa and the Middle East to fund the Wharton European Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Initiative. The check was presented to Wharton School Dean Patrick Harker during the School’s June 10 Global Alumni Forum in London. The CSR Initiative is designed to support research on corporate ethics and responsible investment with a focus on business in the U.S. and Europe.

Harker stated, “We are honored to receive this generous support from members of our Executive Board for Europe, Africa and the Middle East. It will provide significant assistance for our students and faculty as they explore corporate social responsibility and business ethics.”

Wharton legal studies professor Thomas Donaldson will lead the implementation of the European CSR Initiative. He stated, “My colleagues and I want to convey our gratitude for the support from the board members with this $1-million gift. This initiative is truly a collaborative effort.”

The CSR Initiative is designed to support the research and studies of Wharton faculty and students in the field of corporate social responsibility. With these funds, the dean will have additional resources to provide supplemental funding for projects, research and initiatives in areas such as social impact management and business ethics.

The $1-million gift will finance several areas of the European CSR Initiative. These include supporting PhD Fellowships for European students and dissertation work on Global and trans-Atlantic studies. It also will fund an upcoming European/U.S. conference on corporate social responsibility and ethics.

In making this gift, the donors announced their hope to raise an additional $10 million to establish a center at Wharton that will focus on corporate social responsibility and business ethics.

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is recognized around the world for its academic strengths across every major discipline and at every level of business education. Founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school in the nation, Wharton has approximately 4,600 undergraduate, MBA, Executive MBA, and doctoral students, more than 8,000 participants in its executive education programs annually, and an alumni network of more than 80,000 worldwide.