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Universities Seen as Critical for Social Entrepreneurship

Ashoka founder Drayton explores their role in discussion with Duke president and business school dean

Ashoka's Bill Drayton talks with Fuqua's Blair Sheppard during "A World Together" panel.

Duke and other universities have an important role to play in assisting social entrepreneurs who are pursuing new solutions for problems in the United States and around the world, the founder of a leading social entrepreneurship organization told an audience of students, alumni and others Saturday.

"When the system is stuck and is a mess and needs to better, you need a very powerful force focused on the good of all," said Bill Drayton, whose Ashoka organization held a weekend conference on social entrepreneurship at the Fuqua School of Business. "Those allies should be universities. These institutions have the opportunity to be a big player."

Cooperative relations between universities and organizations such as Ashoka are valuable, agreed Duke President Richard Brodhead, who praised Drayton as a "father of social entrepreneurship" during an afternoon panel discussion with him and Fuqua Dean Blair Sheppard. Duke and other educational institutions can provide students with the skills they need to become effective change agents, Brodhead said.

Brodhead noted how the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship and other programs are responding to a growing interest in social entrepreneurship at Duke, which recently launched a campus-wide initiative to promote innovation to transform new ideas into businesses and socially minded ventures.

a world together

During their conversation, which was also sponsored by the Duke Alumni Association's A World Together conference, Drayton described how Ashoka has grown into a network of more than 2,000 Ashoka Fellows who are advancing innovative solutions to meet the needs of global citizens. He recalled his own days in New York City at a time when social change was in the air.

"Our idea was a really simple one," Drayton said. "Let's create a system where we'll identify the great ideas and help them get started."

Sheppard said many students who attend Duke's and other business schools now have as much, or more, interest in using business skills to promote social change as they do in becoming wealthy. "Students now want to change the world," he said. "They [may] intend to work for McKinsey, but they have in their core this desire to absolutely contribute to the world."