Yale SOM Announces Expanded Program on Social Enterprise, Innovation, and Impact

The Yale School of Management has expanded the Program on Social Enterprise, Innovation, and Impact to serve as a hub for social impact activities across the school. The program, formerly known as the Program on Social Enterprise, will be led by Professor Judith Chevalier and will support and convene members of the SOM community in exploring the ways that for-profit, nonprofit, and government entities can find and deploy innovative strategies to achieve social objectives.

Yale SOM Dean Kerwin Charles said, “The newly extended purview of PSEII will be an embodiment of the ongoing importance of our mission to educate leaders for business and society. Our community cares deeply about using the skills of a business education to tackle pressing social and environmental challenges, and PSEII will serve as a nexus for social impact at the school by coordinating and empowering the efforts of faculty, students, alumni, and other partners.”

PSEII develops courses, host events and colloquia, supports student clubs active in the social impact space, and furthers faculty research. Its activities encompass the many subjects and fields related to social impact, including economic development, social entrepreneurship, nonprofit management, public health, climate change, environmental management, impact investing, and diversity and inclusion. 

Judith Chevalier, the William S. Beinecke Professor of Finance and Economics, said that PSEII’s expanded focus reflects the broad interest in social impact among Yale SOM students, faculty, and alumni. “With our expanded focus, we’ll be able to create more opportunities for students and others at SOM to engage in rigorous study of social impact and to make a difference in their communities,” said Chevalier. “We are currently studying opportunities for expanding all aspects of our social impact programs. This fall, we launched a new speaker series to improve dialog with our local New Haven community and created expanded opportunities for students to engage with leaders of socially-minded organizations in our home community. We are looking forward to launching new curricular and extracurricular opportunities.”

As it expands, PSEII will continue to offer and support the flagship programs that have been core parts of the SOM experience for generations of students. These include: 

• Social Impact Lab, a weekly forum for students and periodic guest speakers to explore their experiences in the social sector.
• Global Social Entrepreneurship, two experiential for-credit courses through which students consult with social enterprises in the developing world.
• Yale Philanthropy Conference, a student-run convening of philanthropic and nonprofit leaders. 

Tony Sheldon ’84, the executive director of PSEII, pointed out that the expanded center is building on a foundation established through the contributions of students, faculty, and staff over decades. “Social impact in its many forms has always been at the heart of the school’s mission,” said Sheldon. “It’s been a source of excitement and purpose for our students and alumni. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish in this area with increased resources, focus, and coordination.” 

Erin Manning ’24, an MBA student leader of the Net Impact club, said, “Engaging with social impact through courses and extracurricular activities has allowed me to test my own hypotheses and solidify my values when it comes to the type of impact I want to be having throughout my life.” 

She added, “I’m so excited about the expansion of the PSEII and the role that it is going to have within the SOM community. As someone who is involved in numerous activities that fall under the PSEII, I’m eager for this work to be more connected in a way that will allow students to take full advantage of the breadth of opportunities available.”