Wood, an adjunct lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, co-taught a new course this past semester called "New Frontiers in Philanthropy, Social Enterprise and Impact Investing." The course, which attracted dozens of students from different backgrounds, including finance and nonprofit, looks into what's behind the hype, who the players are, how money is being put to work, where demand is growing and such practicalities as valuations and corporate reporting trends.
IRI tracks courses offered in responsible and impact investing at North American universities and provides information to other academics interested in teaching these topics. "I think we'll see slow and steady [academic] engagement as long as the field continues to grow," says Wood.
Corporate responsibility and responsible investing curricula might also serve as a morale booster or career energizer. Just ask Gary Matthews, a CPA who did tax and financial planning for individuals and small businesses before enrolling in the Union Theological Seminary in the 1990s in search of something more meaningful. He earned a doctorate in social ethics and then launched an SRI-focused advisory practice.
"Classes in ethics were key; it's what brought me into doing this work in the first place," says Matthews, a New York-based investment advisory representative with the First Affirmative Financial Network LLC. He recalls the message of a management and leadership course he took that was co-taught by a Columbia University business professor. "It was not what to do or how to do it, but whether we ought to do it-and it was really an eye-opener for the Columbia students," he says.
Matthews, who taught undergraduate and graduate courses in ethics as an adjunct professor at Drew University in Madison, N.J., thinks it's important for students to learn about corporate social responsibility and sustainability as they become more integrated into mainstream business practices.
Students are also cultivating useful practitioner skills through opportunities outside the classroom. Those involved in the student-led Haas Socially Responsible Investment Fund (which has assets of approximately $1.5 million) have recently had to balance the solar industry's poor stock performance with the reality that this sector is clearly going to be part of the solution in global sustainability, says Kurtz, the fund's faculty advisor. They also have to learn to adapt to frequent organization turnover as students graduate and matriculate. "I'm really impressed with the alacrity with which they handle that challenge," he says.
Students need to remember that the possibilities are endless-and that they need to be willing to help uncover them. Says Kurtz: "We don't have the final answers; we have really provocative questions."