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01 Apr 2009

Professor James Austin Wins Social Entrepreneurship Award

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Professor Emeritus
James E. Austin

BOSTON — James E. Austin, the Eliot I. Snider and Family Professor of Business Administration Emeritus at Harvard Business School, has been named a winner of a 2008 Faculty Pioneer Award in Social Entrepreneurship by Ashoka, the world's largest network of social entrepreneurs, and the Aspen Institute, which equips business leaders for the 21st century with the vision and knowledge to integrate corporate profitability and social value.

The annual award celebrates faculty members who have demonstrated leadership in conducting both innovative research and teaching relevant to today's most pressing global problems. Austin was recognized in particular for his outstanding contributions to social entrepreneurship education over many years.

Austin was cofounder and chair of the Harvard Business School Social Enterprise Initiative, a broad array of research, course development, and other efforts that aim to inspire, educate, and support current and emerging leaders in all sectors so that they can apply management skills to create social value. He also founded the Social Enterprise Knowledge Network (SEKN) to advance the frontiers of knowledge and practice in social enterprise in Latin America.

"I am delighted to receive this award, which reflects as well the achievements of my colleagues in the Harvard Business School Social Enterprise Initiative and the interest of our MBA students in contributing to and participating in this sector throughout their lives and careers," Austin said.

"The Faculty Pioneers in Social Entrepreneurship are blending the boundaries between theory and practice to support systemic solutions to complex problems in a changing world," said Marina Kim, director of Ashoka's University Program. "By creating new knowledge and high-quality coursework, developing new centers and degree programs, and participating in or leading collaborative research networks, the faculty members we honor with these awards are making a significant contribution to the field, to students and the world."

Candidates for Faculty Pioneer Awards are nominated by their academic peers, and winners are chosen by a distinguished panel of judges from the social and philanthropic sectors

About Harvard Business School

Founded in 1908 as part of Harvard University, Harvard Business School is located on a 40-acre campus in Boston. Its faculty of more than 250 offers full-time programs leading to the MBA and PhD degrees, as well as more than 175 Executive Education programs, and Harvard Business School Online, the School’s digital learning platform. For more than a century, faculty have drawn on their research, their experience in working with organizations worldwide, and their passion for teaching, to educate leaders who make a difference in the world. The School and its curriculum attract the boldest thinkers and the most collaborative learners who will go on to shape the practice of business and entrepreneurship around the globe.

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