Nicholas Kristof has an inspiring column on the rise of social entrepreneurship in this past weekend’s New York times. He cites, among others, current Harvard Business School student Andrew Klaber, founder of Orphans Against Aids, as an example of a generational shift towards applying entrepreneurial solutions to global problems…

“Today the most remarkable young people are the social entrepreneurs, those who see a problem in society and roll up their sleeves to address it in new ways. Bill Drayton, the chief executive of an organization called Ashoka that supports social entrepreneurs, likes to say that such people neither hand out fish nor teach people to fish; their aim is to revolutionize the fishing industry. If that sounds insanely ambitious, it is. John Elkington and Pamela Hartigan title their new book on social entrepreneurs “The Power of Unreasonable People.”

Dean Thomas Robertson published a great piece in the Financial Times earlier this week about the importance of social responsibility to the business school curriculum and Wharton’s efforts to be a center of innovation on these critical issues:

“Today we use terms such as “social impact” and “social responsibility” when discussing the ways in which businesses need to take into account not only their shareholders, but other stakeholders as well. Social responsibility is no longer relegated to the relatively small percentage of students who seek to work in the nonprofit sector. It has become integrated into our way of thinking in business education and in the coming years needs to be further developed…

…We would like to graduate students who are capable of generating financial returns, but at the same time who are concerned with social good, as this is part of the original mission of our school…

…We want them to be ethical and sensitive to corporate social responsibility issues. We hope they take a broader view and think about how their business decisions can contribute to the overall social good.”

Robertson had previously told the Associated Press that he intends to make Wharton “a force for good in the world.” The article also features comments from Net Impact’s Director, Liz Maw, who mentions that Wharton is hosting the conference next year.

Welcome to the new face of Wharton Social Impact!

In an on-going effort to showcase the efforts and activities of our club, we are relaunching our website in a decidedly new and conversational format.  Our goal is not only to be a resource for information, but to be an active forum for dialogue on issues of social and environmental responsibility, business ethics, and international development.  We will seek to highlight members of the Wharton community (and the global business community) doing extraordinary things to advance the integration of business and social good — and will not shy away for criticizing those in the same communities who could be doing more.

We hope to bring in the voices of current Wharton students, faculty, and alumni, and hope that those from other institutions and the business world at large will join in.  Welcome and we’re excited to begin this new conversation!