We are pleased to announce the fourth annual seminar on "Business and Catholic Social Thought: A Primer." During the seminar, graduate students and faculty members in business schools will cover foundational principles in Catholic social thought and apply them to their own field of research and teaching. This seminar aims at widening epistemological preconceptions and showing practical implications of Catholic social thought for business in a way that affirms the goodness of business directed toward the common good. Participants will delve into social encyclicals, secondary sources, and relevant business texts that show the path for principled entrepreneurship in order to gain knowledge, exchange experiences, receive help with their syllabi and consider how best to integrate Catholic social thought into business education.
LOCATION
The seminar will take place at the University of Saint Thomas in Minnesota between Tuesday, June 11 and Friday, June 14.
A limited number of travel stipends for students are available on a per need basis. All participants will be provided with accommodations and most meals (some on their own).
APPLICATION INFORMATION
This seminar will be open to graduate students and faculty of any specialization in business schools. Applicants will be required to submit a completed online application, including:
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An updated CV/resume.
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A brief statement of research interest related to Catholic social thought no longer than 750 words.
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One academic writing sample.
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All application materials can be submitted via the online application. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
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Fifteen students will be admitted to this seminar.
Application materials are due February 25, 2024.
This seminar is cosponsored by the John A. Ryan Institute for Catholic Social Thought at the University of St. Thomas (MN); the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame; the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship at the Catholic University of America; the Lumen Christi Institute; and the Markets, Culture and Ethics Research Centre at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome.
Jeff Burks is the Thomas and Therese Grojean Family Associate Professor of Accountancy and the Deloitte Faculty Fellow. His general area of research is financial accounting. Much of his work examines accounting misstatements and their correction, including how managers and auditors decide whether correction is necessary, how capital markets react to corrections, and the consequences for corporate managers. Burks also studies the financial reporting and disclosure of banks. His coauthored paper examining the role of fair value accounting in the financial crisis was awarded the FARS Best Paper, selected from all financial accounting studies published in the previous five years. Burks teaches Data Analytics in Accounting and a theological integration course called Work and the Interior Life. He received a PhD from the University of Iowa in 2007, majoring in accounting and minoring in finance. He has an MBA from Creighton University and a BBA from the University of Notre Dame, and worked as an internal auditor in the financial services industry.
Lloyd Sandelands is Professor of Management and Organizations and Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan.
Professor Lloyd E. Sandelands joined the faculty of the Stephen M. Ross School of Business and the faculty of Psychology in the College of Literature, Sciences, and the Arts, in 1989. Prior to that, he taught at the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University (1982-1989). Professor Sandelands received his AB in Psychology (1977) from Washington University in St. Louis and his Ph.D. in Organization Behavior (1982) from Northwestern University.
Professor Sandelands' research focuses on the social and spiritual dimensions of life in organizations. Professor Sandelands teaches courses in social and organizational psychology and management to graduate and undergraduate students in Business Administration and Psychology.
Martin Schlag is the Holder of the Moss-endowed Chair at University of St. Thomas and the Director of the John A. Ryan Institute.
Schlag’s research focuses on the tradition of Catholic social thought in political and economic questions. Specifically, he studies how the Christian faith over the centuries related to markets, trade and exchange, money and interest, and private property and social justice. The focus is on how to promote principled business leadership for the common good and to overcome poverty by including the poor into the market economy.
Schlag’s research is published in a series of books and chapters in edited books. Many of them are the fruit of conferences he has organized in various parts of the world. His experience as a consultant to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in Rome has given him a unique insight into social and human challenges worldwide.
Schlag is passionate about making his students think about the “big picture” and the deep meaning of truth, goodness and beauty in their work. Business is a noble vocation when it is part of an aspirational narrative made up of dreams, virtues and values that give business purpose and meaning. As a Catholic priest, he wishes to help students live a life worth living.
Andreas E. Widmer is an Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and the director of the Art & Carlyse Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship at The Catholic University of America’s Busch School of Business.
Previously he co-founded The SEVEN Fund, a philanthropic organization promoting enterprise solutions to poverty. Widmer is a seasoned business executive with experience in high-tech, international business strategy, consulting and economic development. He served as CEO of the business strategy firm OTF Group (formerly part of the Monitor Group) and helped lead web content management pioneer Eprise Corporation, speech recognition pioneer Dragon Systems, and internet pioneer FTP Software. He has worked extensively in the United States, Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America, has brought more than 100 leading-edge technology products to market, and was an executive in residence at Highland Capital Partners.
Andreas is the author of The Pope & The CEO: Pope Saint John Paul II’s Lessons to a Young Swiss Guard, a book exploring leadership lessons that Widmer learned serving as a Swiss Guard protecting Pope John Paul II and refined during his career as a successful business executive.
An author on the connection between entrepreneurship, economic development and spirituality, Andreas contributed two chapters to the book In the River They Swim: Essays from Around the World on Enterprise Solutions to Poverty. A chapter entitled “Ministering to the Pioneers of Prosperity” was recently published in Springer's Ethical Economy series book Free Markets and the Culture of Common Good. He has authored articles and been featured in various business and general interest media including The Financial Times, CNN, NPR, ABC, Wall Street Journal Live, Huffington Post, Fortune, The Washington Times, Boston Globe, Bloomberg News, FastCompany, SiriusXM, Vatican Radio, EWTN, Al Jazeera, First Things and many more.
Andreas is an advisor to the Zermatt Summit, an annual business leadership event that strives to humanize globalization. He also serves as an advisor to Transforming Business, a research and development project at the University of Cambridge, UK. He is on the board of directors at the New Paradigm Research Fund, and Virtual Research Associates.
Widmer served as a Pontifical Swiss Guard from 1986-1988, protecting Pope John Paul II. He holds two business degrees from Switzerland, plus a B.S. in International Business from Merrimack College and an M.A. in Ministry from St. John’s Seminary in Boston. A citizen of Switzerland and the United States, he speaks English, German, Italian and French. Andreas loves to spend time with his wife and son. He is an eternal student of fly-fishing, enjoys skiing, and is an avid reader.
