Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/233379
from the type of work that saves lives, that makes a difference in whether children are fed or face starvation, that allows people to have access to clean water. Making a difference in people's lives has to give them great joy. ent jobs within academia, and when I moved from Notre Dame to CRS, I took pay cuts. I'm always striking a balance between having enough and doing what I feel pulled to do at a certain point. I have a sense of passion, but I also have a sense of pragmatism. I would tell students they have to have both. While you were dean at Notre Dame, you clearly were drawn to the notion of business as a force for good. You were involved in the Peace Through Commerce initiative at AACSB, and you wrote about the role of business in society, especially in the developing world. In taking the job with CRS, it seems you followed that passion to its logical conclusion. What advice would you give to business students about when they should take jobs for the experience, and when they should risk everything to follow their hearts? I think I'm a person who needs a balance between passion and security. I don't follow my passion to the point of saying, "I don't care if I have savings for my old age. I don't care if I can fund my children's education." On the other hand, I don't make decisions just to earn the highest amount of money. When I moved from consulting to academia, when I moved to differ- Even if business students decide to go into business, not the nonprofit sector, do you think it would benefit them to take an internship working with a nonprofit? Completely. First of all, the skills are very transferrable. Second, that experience would give them more accurate impressions of not-forprofits. It's much harder to work at a not-for-profit than a for-profit because the organization has to achieve a lot on very little budget. If students understand how to do that, they could lead in many different situations. Finally, they would learn to understand the consequences of business actions—not just the negative consequences, but also what happens when business doesn't go far enough. They would learn to ask, "How can my actions make society a better place?" I'm not one of those who only thinks about the bad things businesses do—I think there is tremendous potential for business to do good. What stops people is a lack of imagination and a lack of connection to the lowest sectors of society. J E N N I FE R HAR DY/CR S Woo visiting the Philippines after a flood in 2011 Have your academic connections led you to develop more partnerships between CRS and universities? CRS works with more than 100 schools on a globalization program that builds student leadership skills. Not only do we have cases that faculty can use, we can make experts available to be beamed virtually into classrooms to discuss issues. In addition to those broad university programs, we have comprehensive research relationships with select universities, and I would say I brought those relationships. If you knew a dean who wanted to leave the academic life for the nonprofit world, what advice would you give? I would say, "Enjoy the idea of being able to make a difference at still another level of impact." Business school deans do a great deal to develop the skills and imaginations and aspirations of young people. But they can reach so many more people if they move into a position like this. At Catholic Relief Services, we touch 100 million people every year. Being able to have that type of impact through leadership of an organization can give someone a tremendous sense of purpose. If you were to return to the academic world after serving at CRS, what would you do differently once you were back in the dean's office? I would do more to help students imagine how they can contribute to the world. I think a lot of times business students' potential exceeds what they actually do with it, so I would inspire them to ask big questions about their lives. I also would do more to expose them to the interdependence of the world so they could see how the actions of business, government, and civil society relate. Business schools tend to focus on only one of the three corners of that triangle, but their actions interrelate and have consequences. I also would hope to inspire them to be less fearful. Because if you're always anxious and always trying to accumulate more, you can't really do big things. BizEd January/February 2014 39