Gregory Unruh Named Endowed Professor of Doing Good Values at George Mason University

Gregory Unruh Named Endowed Professor of Doing Good Values at George Mason University

Gregory Unruh, noted writer, speaker and teacher in the areas of corporate social responsibility, environmental sustainability and technology and innovation management, has joined George Mason University as the Arison Group Endowed Professor of Doing Good Values. The professorship was created with a generous donation from American-Israeli businesswoman and philanthropist Shari Arison.

Unruh will teach in George Mason’s New Century College within the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and will be dedicated to research and education that focuses on the application of fundamental human values to global business and a strong global “moral economy.”

"It is a great honor to be selected as the first holder of the Arison Chair," says Unruh. "I look forward to the work of researching and promoting values-based approaches to leadership as exemplified by work of the Arison Group and the vision of Shari Arison."

Shari Arison, listed by Forbes as one of the World’s Greenest Billionaires, repeatedly ranked as one of Forbes Most Powerful Women, and a member of The B Team global initiative, says, “The Doing Good Model is all about making the circles of good grow in the world. It captures the approach of making a positive difference, bringing fundamental values into the hearts of people, communities, businesses and organizations. This model, and the academic research involved, practically bridge between values and organizational structures to enable decision-making processes to be foremost values-based, for the benefit of society, the economy and the environment.” Arison is the owner of the Arison Group, a conglomerate of businesses and philanthropic organizations that operates worldwide to realize the vision of Doing Good.

Unruh was most recently an associate professor of sustainability at the Thunderbird School of Global Management. An outspoken advocate of environmental sustainability, ethics and corporate social responsibility, Unruh co-founded the Center for Eco-Intelligent Management with the renowned “green” designer William McDonough and also has served as a technical reviewer for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the group that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice President Al Gore.

Before Thunderbird, Unruh was the IE Alumni Professor of Corporate Sustainability at the top ranked IE Business School in Madrid. He also served on the faculty of Columbia University through Jeffrey Sach’s Earth Institute and at Tufts University’s Fletcher School, where he was interim director of the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy. Prior to his academic career, he spent eight years as an environmental consultant in California and northern Mexico.

"Dr. Gregory Unruh brings a dynamic agenda of public scholarship, breadth of interdisciplinary and collaborative teaching experiences, and expertise in the areas of international business ethics, corporate social responsibility and sustainability, all of which enrich and complement New Century College’s mission to prepare undergraduates to address pressing social and global challenges in innovative ways," says Lisa Gring-Pemble, dean of New Century College.

Unruh is a frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review, including his recent articles, "The Biosphere Rules, Growing Green: Three Smart Paths to Developing Sustainable Products" and "Winning in the Green Frenzy." He is the author of two books including the Amazon best-selling "Earth, Inc.: Using Nature’s Rules to Build Sustainable Profits” and “Being Global: How to Think, Act, and Lead in a Transformed World,” which he co-wrote with Mason's president Angel Cabrera and was a work endorsed by President Bill Clinton.