2009 Headlines
Johnson School participates in Ashoka's Changemaker Initiative
Cross-campus initiative seeks to raise awareness about social change and entrepreneurship
May 28, 2009 | Ithaca, NY | The CRESP Center for Transformative Action, The Johnson School's Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise and Entrepreneurship@Cornell have launched the Cornell Change Makers, Innovators, and Problem Solvers Initiative. Through this collaboration, the initiative is focused on establishing the infrastructure that will allow the broad Cornell community to more effectively conceive, nurture and establish student and community organizations to address some of the world's most complex social and environmental problems.
Anke Wessels, Executive Director of Cornell's CRESP Center for Transformative Action, Mark Milstein, Director of the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise, and John Jaquette, Executive Director of Entrepreneurship@Cornell, are working with a core group of undergraduate and graduate students to link Cornell programs, faculty, students and alumni to the initiative.
In March, students working on the Ashoka initiative held a campus-wide Changemaker Forum to raise awareness about social change and generate ideas to improve social entrepreneurship at Cornell. The group's primary goals are to celebrate student and alumni Changemakers by telling their stories; to ignite social innovation, creativity, and problem solving through inspired teaching; and to strengthen the effectiveness of students who want to be part of the solution to pressing social problems while on campus and after they graduate. One of their first projects is to develop an audio narratives collection to highlight Cornell students and alumni who are creating positive social change.
The initiative is the result of participation in the Ashoka Changemakers Campus Project. Ashoka, a global association of social entrepreneurs, selected Cornell University last fall as one of four universities to participate in this inaugural program which seeks to catalyze the development of multi-disciplinary, cross-stakeholder, and inter-campus programs that allow universities to be incubators for social change.
"The environment here at Cornell is ripe for the Changemakers Initiative which emphasizes leadership, engagement, and transformation action," Milstein said. "Currently, there is a great deal of energy around sustainability, entrepreneurship, and the impact that the university can have on national and global interests."
Entrepreneurship@Cornell is compiling a map of social entrepreneurship resources, including courses, clubs and faculty across the campus. This information and a brief report of Cornell's progress with the Ashoka Changemaker Campus Initiative will be available on the Entrepreneurship@Cornell web portal by the beginning of the fall semester.
The CRESP Center for Transformative Action is a catalyst for transformative social change, that cultivates change makers with pattern-breaking ideas to resolve social problems and mobilize others to action.
The Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise is uniquely focused on innovation and entrepreneurship as a way to solve the world's most pressing environmental and social problems.
Entrepreneurship@Cornell works with campus schools, colleges, and organizations to help create and promote entrepreneurship education, events, commercialization, and experiential learning opportunities.
