Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship to Address Worldwide 2015 Jesuit Conference
Executive Director Thane Kreiner, Ph.D., Represents Santa Clara University on Developing Social Entrepreneurs Through International Collaborations
Deborah Lohse
SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 30, 2015 – From July 8-10, presidents and directors of Jesuit higher education and other institutions from around the world will meet in Melbourne, Australia, under the banner “Expanding the Jesuit Higher Education Network: Collaborations for Social Justice.” Thane Kreiner, Ph.D., executive director of the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University, will represent the university and lead a panel titled “Developing Social Entrepreneurs: Jesuit University Collaboration.”
Held every five years, the gathering brings together more than 200 leaders of Jesuit higher education. The conference will take place on the heels of Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment. Among other topics, the conference will address environmental preservation and social justice issues, international Jesuit collaborations, and future collaborative opportunities.
“The Jesuit Higher Education Conference is an important opportunity to bring together leaders in Jesuit higher education worldwide to explore our common social justice mission,” said Michael Engh, S.J., president of Santa Clara University. “Our Miller Center and other mission-aligned institutions have forged a global network that is successfully helping social entrepreneurs craft market-based solutions to the myriad problems of poverty. We are pleased to participate in the Melbourne conference and share the fruits of that collaboration.”
Kreiner’s panel will focus on Jesuit-led social entrepreneurship networks that are currently in operation around the world. With 25 members in 17 countries, the Global Social Benefit Institute (GSBI®) Network is being offered as a model of how Jesuit institutions of higher education can collaborate to effect positive social change. To date, the GSBI Network has provided strategic guidance, structured curriculum, and “capacity building” – the strengthening of capabilities and expansion of operations – to almost 3,800 social enterprises.
“Social entrepreneurship is a proven and successful approach to applying business principles that address social and environmental issues,” said Kreiner. “It offers a fresh way to respond to the needs of the poor and the planet in a pro-economic-development and sustainable manner. Engaging with and sharing the Miller Center’s GSBI methodology with other Jesuit institutions is a highly leveraged activity, allowing us to grow our collective impact from hundreds to thousands of social enterprises per year.”
More information about the conference, is available at http://www.luc.edu/melbourne/
About the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship
Founded in 1997, the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship is one of three Centers of Distinction at Santa Clara University. The Miller Center accelerates global, innovation-based entrepreneurship in service to humanity. Its strategic focus is on poverty eradication through its three areas of work: The Global Social Benefit Institute, Impact Capital, and Education and Action Research. To learn more about the Center or any of its social entrepreneurship programs, please visit www.scu.edu/MillerCenter.
About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 9,000 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering; master’s degrees in business, education, counseling psychology, pastoral ministry, and theology; and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.
Media Contacts
Deborah Lohse | SCU Media Relations | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121
Jaime Gusching | MCSE Marketing | jgusching@scu.edu | 408-551-6048
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