T he Kenan-Flagler Business School has many reasons to be proud, but its commitment to public service is in danger of no longer being one.
In the past, the school relied on its partnership with Habitat for Humanity to qualify for such a distinction, but, since the dissolution of the two groups’ partnership, there has not been a public attempt to regain a similar partnership — or to show a renewed commitment to service at all. It is crucial that our business school commits to service. The Carolina Way demands that students be “great, but not at the expense of being good.”
To name just a few examples, the UNC School of Medicine is sponsoring an event with Partners In Health to show how limited global health care is at the center of the Ebola concern.
The UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication sponsored a documentary project to study investment in solar energy in Spain.
The Campus Smart Initiative, which promotes financial literacy, is one example of a service-based student group in Kenan-Flagler, but the school itself must follow that lead.
With its multitude of global programs, in-house study abroad program and private funding, Kenan-Flagler certainly has great capacity for “goodness,” and it should actively seek new partnerships in the wake of Habitat’s departure.
Kenan-Flagler still features pictures of a former Habitat build on its website. The school should do its best to keep this image from becoming stale.
