Social Impact Awards for Research and Outreach rolled out by Drake’s College of Business and Public Administration

Friday, September 24th, 2021

Drake University’s College of Business and Public Administration (CBPA) is launching a new program to recognize faculty and staff who tackle pressing issues facing society through their scholarship and work in the community. The CBPA Social Impact Research and Outreach Awards—valued at $1,000—will be given annually to up to five individual faculty and staff, or teams of faculty and/or staff, who address one or more of a range of social and environmental topics.

“This recognition of our college’s positive contributions to the world we live in is central to Drake’s commitment to ensuring that a business education can serve as a force for good,” said Alejandro Hernandez, dean of the College of Business and Public Administration. “We have a track record of addressing a number of issues ranging from deploying our data analytics expertise to help the Des Moines Area Religious Council Food Pantry tackle food insecurity to using on-market valuation techniques to estimate the recreational value of water in Iowa to investigating the potential for values-based investing to spur economic development in the Middle East and North Africa.”

To be considered for the award, the recent research or outreach projects need to address one or more of a range of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) criteria as defined by the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment or the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The first slate of winners will be announced in the spring of 2022.