Welcome
We seek to strengthen the Judeo-Christian ethical foundations in business and public policy decisions by fostering dialogue among academic and corporate leaders and by integrating the teaching of ethics throughout the business curriculum at Notre Dame. The Center has a particular focus on Catholic Social Teaching as discussed here.
News and Current Projects
2023 Annual Meeting of the Society of Business Ethics and the Academy of Management
Fr. Ollie Williams attended the annual meetings of the Society of Business Ethics and the Academy of Management from August 4th to August 8th, 2023. In this photo, Ollie is seated with other leading management scholars at the Society of Business Ethics meeting.
UN Assistant Secretary-General Visits Notre Dame for Mendoza Centenary Conference
On March 31st, 2023, Sanda Ojiambo - Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and CEO of the United Nations Global Compact - visited the University of Notre Dame to speak at the Mendoza College of Business Centenary Conference. Ms. Ojiambo addressed those gathered on the current status of the Global Compact and offered her thoughts on the program's future. Pictured with Ms. Ojiambo is Fr. Ollie Williams, Director of the Center for Ethics and Religious Values in Business, and Connor Patrick, the student assistant for the center.
Fr. Ollie is a member of the Board of the Directors of the United Nations Global Compact Foundation, and as such has worked very closely with Ms. Ojiambo.
Ms. Ojiambo was also interviewed by Mendoza's Deloitte Center for Ethical Leadership while visiting Notre Dame. Videos from this interview can be found here on the Deloitte Center website.
2022 Frank Cahill Lecture in Business Ethics: "The Wisdom of Shareholder Welfare"
On Thursday, November 3rd, the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Religious Values in Business and the Deloitte Center for Ethical Leadership hosted "The Wisdom of Shareholder Welfare," featuring CEO of 1PointSix and former senior BlackRock executive Terrence Keeley (ND '81). More information, including the link to watch the recording of the link, can be found here.
PRESS RELEASE: Senior finance executive to deliver talk on stakeholder versus shareholder welfare
Location: Zoom OR Jordan Auditorium, Mendoza College of Business
2022 Annual Meeting of the Society of Business Ethics and the Academy of Management
This photo is from the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Society of Business Ethics and the Academy of Management in Seattle. Pictured are: Joanne Ciulla, Rutgers University; Lindsay Thompson, Johns Hopkins University; Pat Werhane, University of Virginia; Ollie Willilams, CSC, University of Notre Dame; Richard DeGeorge, University of Kansas; Georges Enderle, University of Notre Dame; and Brad Agle, Brigham Young University.
A Conversation with Two International Business Leaders
PRESS RELEASE: ‘A Radical Turn’: Virtual Conversation to Focus on Business’ Role in Society
On February 3, 2022, the Center for Ethics and Religious Values in Business hosted "A Conversation with Two International Business Leaders" between Paul Polman and Sanda Ojiambo. Paul Polman is the former CEO of Unilever and Co-Founder & Co-Chair of IMAGINE. Sanda Ojiambo is the Executive Director of the United Nations Global Compact. Polman discussed his book Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than Their Take, and Sanda Ojiambo provided a response and brief overview of current priorities for the UN Global Compact. This event was hosted in cooperation with Trinity Business School at Trinity College Dublin.
In case you were unable to join us, the recording of the event may be accessed here.
Date: Thursday, February 3, 2022
Time: 12:00PM EST, 5:00PM GMT
Location: Zoom OR Jordan Auditorium, Mendoza College of Business
Past Projects
A Conference at the University of Notre Dame on "A Global Compact For Sustainable Development. Advancing Care for Our Common Home (Laudato Si')"
PRESS RELEASE: Conference explores Laudato Si’ and sustainable development
On April 3-4, 2016, the University of Notre Dame and the UN Global Compact convened a meeting designed to educate students about the role of business in advancing the SDGs and to attract more companies to participate in the endeavor. The theme of the meeting was expressed well by Lise Kingo, the new UN Global Compact Executive Director: “From principled business practices to making long-term commitments aligned with the SDGs, we need more companies around the world to join the UN Global Compact and help to change the world around them.” Leading companies advancing the SDGs addressed the meeting with their formula for success.
2017 Frank Cahill Lecture in Business Ethics, and the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C. Award
Time: Tue Apr 25, 2017, 4:00PM - 5:30PM
Location: Jordan Auditorium, Mendoza College of Business
The Center for Ethics and Religious Values in Business hosted the 2017 Frank Cahill Lecture in Business Ethics, and the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C. Award. The Cahill Lecture was a panel discussion on ethical issues faced by recent business school graduates, that was followed by the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C. Award. CUMMINS, INC., (acceptance by Tom Linebarger, Chairman and CEO of CUMMINS, INC.) was honored with the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C. Award.
The United Nations Global Compact and the Encyclical Laudato Si: A Common Vision
Greenleaf Publishing is delighted to announce that The Journal of Corporate Citizenship, Issue 64, is now available online, at http://gse.publisher.ingentaconnect.com/content/glbj/jcc/2016/00002016/00000064. The special edition of The Journal of Corporate Citizenship explores the impact of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and Pope Francis’ Encyclical Laudato Si (LS) in guiding a new, unified approach to corporate responsibility.
Over recent decades, escalating social and environmental concerns have prompted increasingly urgent calls for corporations to confirm their commitment to go beyond self-interest and to actively support solutions to our global challenges. This special issue of The Journal of Corporate Citizenship examines how the UNGC and the LS are shaping corporate attitudes and influencing the behaviour of some of the world’s leading multinationals in this direction. Click here to view press release.
The Purpose of Business: The Basic Issue
by Oliver Williams
Much of the unethical behavior in business today stems from the single-minded pursuit of profit. This unbalanced pursuit of profit can be corrected by an over-arching perspective, which helps us see business purpose in the context of the larger human picture…continue article on pages 6-8. The Purpose of Business: The Basic Issue
Professor Williams spent from August 15th to the 29th at the United Nations Global Compact office working on a special issue of the Journal of Corporate Citizenship
Professor Williams spent from August 15th to the 29th at the United Nations Global Compact office working on a special issue of the Journal of Corporate Citizenship titled THE UN GLOBAL COMPACT AND THE ENCYCLICAL LAUDATO SI (ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME): COMMON ASPIRATIONS DESIGNED TO CHANGE THE WORLD. The special issue contains some of the papers delivered at the April 2016 conference at Notre Dame and is scheduled for the December 2016 issue of the JCC.
Seoul, South Korea
Father Williams is in Seoul, South Korea, each July working on various projects to advance the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), The photo is of Williams and Ambassador Im Hong Jae, the Secretary-General of the UN local network in Korea.
May 2016 trip to Japan
This photo is of May 2016 trip to Japan where Father Williams was lecturing to a group from the Notre Dame Alumni Travel.
United Nations University in Tokyo
The Photo is of Professor Williams and his class at the United Nations University in Tokyo, February 2016. The members of the class were from 15 countries and were studying Leadership for Sustainability.
The week of September 21st, 2015, was perhaps the busiest in the history of the United Nations headquarters in New York City
On Friday morning, September 25th, Pope Francis addressed the worldwide heads of state and government and focused on the key themes of his leadership expressed well in the June 2015 encyclical, On Care for Our Common Home (Laudate Si'). He focused on the dangers from "the environmental deterioration caused by human activity," the need to show compassion for immigrants, refugees and all the poor, and the urgent need to work for peace in a troubled world... A Global Compact For Sustainable Development(97K).
Father Williams, along with the two other members of the Board of Directors of the United Nations Global Compact and several staff members of the United Nations, drafted the RESPONSE See the document to the Papal Encyclical on the Environment(304K).
Society of Business Ethics Meeting
Some of the Leaders of the Business Ethics Field at the Society of Business Ethics Meeting. From Left to Right: Manny Velasquez, Richard DeGeorge, Ollie Williams, CSC., Jerry Cavanagh, S.J. and Ken Goodpaster.
15th Anniversary Celebration at the United Nations
Leaders at the UN Global Compact attending the 15th Anniversary Celebration at the United Nations. From Left to Right: John Ruggie, Ollie Williams, CSC., Sir Mar Moody-Stuart, and Malcomb McIntosh.