Widener Names First Beideman Visiting Scholar
Chester, Pa.--Dr. Mary C. Gentile, a pioneer in the field of values-driven leadership,
has been appointed the first Beideman Visiting Scholar for the Oskin Leadership Institute
at Widener University.
Gentile, a senior research scholar at Babson College in Massachusetts, is director
of Giving Voice to Values, a business curriculum launched by Aspen Institute and the
Yale School of Management now based and funded at Babson. Gentile's pioneering approach
to values-driven leadership development that has been featured in Financial Times,
Harvard Business Review and BizEd, and is being piloted in more than 250 business
schools and organizations globally.
As an independent consultant, Gentile works with corporate, non-profit and academic
institutions on leadership development, social impact management, ethics, business
education and diversity. Clients include Columbia University Business School, Harvard
Business School, Pfizer Corporation, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley among others.
As the Beideman Visiting Scholar, Dr. Gentile will work with students, faculty and
administration in the Widener School of Business Administration during the month of
September focusing on the Giving Voice to Values curriculum, and will return to campus
during the spring semester to work with student leaders throughout the university.
"On behalf of Paul and Caroline Beideman, the Oskin Leadership Institute is excited
to welcome Dr. Mary Gentile to campus," said Dr. Arthur Schwartz, executive director
of the Oskin Leadership Institute. "Her approach to empowering students to 'live their
values' is nothing short of inspiring and perfectly aligns with the Institute's commitment
to deepening humanity's understanding and practice of moral courage."
Paul Beideman, who received a master's degree in finance from Widener in 1979, and
his wife, Caroline, made a $500,000 commitment to Widener to establish the Beideman
Visiting Scholar program within the Oskin Leadership Institute. Through their gift,
distinguished scholars from outside institutions spend time at Widener sharing their
expertise and guiding faculty and student discussion and research.
Prior to his retirement, Beideman served as chairman of the board and chief executive
officer of Associated Banc-Corp, a bank holding company with 300 offices, 5,200 employees,
and total assets of $24 billion. He continues to be involved in several charitable
organizations and also shares his knowledge and expertise with Widener as a member
of the Board of Trustees.
The mission of the Oskin Leadership Institute is to perpetuate the university's long
and noble tradition of inspiring students to be strategic leaders and responsible
citizens who possess the character, courage and competencies to affect positive change
throughout the world.
Widener University is a private, metropolitan university that connects curricula to
social issues through civic engagement. Dynamic teaching, active scholarship, personal
attention, leadership development, and experiential learning are key components of
the Widener experience. A comprehensive doctorate-granting university, Widener is
comprised of eight schools and colleges that offer liberal arts and sciences and professional
and pre-professional curricula leading to associate's, baccalaureate, master's, and
doctoral degrees. The university's campuses in Chester, Exton, and Harrisburg, PA,
and Wilmington, DE, serve approximately 6,500 students. Visit the university's website,
www.widener.edu, for more information.
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