While most people at Wharton would associate Grow To Be Great with the business textbook arguing against corporate downsizing, those of us in the world of social entrepreneurship think of growing to be great to be the challenge of the developing world.  William Easterly, professor of Economics at New York University, has a wonderful recent article in the Los Angeles Timescommenting on these growth challenges in the face of the Western “aid machine” that fuels itself off perpetuating the perception that Africa is a starving, war torn, and backward place.  Easterly’s commentary is powerful and supportive of a view that resourceful, social entrepreneurship and not a continuous stream of handouts is the key to growth.

“The real Africa needs increased trade from the West more than it needs more aid handouts. A respected Ugandan journalist, Andrew Mwenda, made this point at a recent African conference despite the fact that the world’s most famous celebrity activist — Bono — was attempting to shout him down. Mwenda was suffering from too much reality for Bono’s taste: “What man or nation has ever become rich by holding out a begging bowl?” asked Mwenda.”

Congratulations to Pay It Forward, the new Wharton Graduate Association (WGA) Executive Board.  The slate claimed victory in last week’s WGA election and has an ambitious agenda with numerous social impact related initiatives:

• Replacing the core curriculum TAP project (a leadership project which for many students has become a source of humorous derision) with a community service project.
• Instituting an “adopt a non-profit” program whereby each cohort commits to working with a local non-profit over the course of the 2 year MBA program.
• Creating a “Business 101″ seminar during pre-term for students with non-traditional backgrounds.
• Expanding the Legal Aspects of Business & Ethics portion of the core curriculum.

Given the extent of Pay It Forward’s social impact focus, it was actually quite (pleasantly) surprising, at least to this second year observer, that they won.  I suppose the general lesson of the “pay it forward” philosophy is that there is a great deal of untapped goodness to humanity.  Apparently there is a nascent well of goodness in the Wharton community that showed up at the ballot box last week.

With any luck, this will be the start of a groundswell of change that will indeed begin to reshape the Wharton brand around educating socially responsible business leaders.  By initiating change now, we will all ”pay it forward” to future generations of students creating an institution committed to the idea that business for global good (as new Dean Robertson would say) is not just a catch phrase, but a professional commitment.

According to this month’s “Wharton Update”, a monthly email publication circulated on behalf of Dean Robertson, Wharton undergrads are pioneers on the social impact front.

“The newly formed Social Impact Consulting Group is one of the first pilot chapters in Net Impact’s new undergraduate initiative. The partnership will raise interest and awareness among Wharton undergraduates in how to make a social impact through business.”

The Social Impact Consulting Group is sending young business students out to work on non-profit consulting issues and to develop a sense of the importance of social responsibility in the context of business.  For many in this newest generation of business leaders, the need to balance social good and profit is an important component of how they will choose employers and how they will choose to manage.  It is nice to see Wharton’s undergrads acknowledged as one of the first groups admitted to this pilot program - with any luck, their pioneering enthusiasm will carry through the halls and influence their older (yet not always wiser) classmates!