Do well while doing good is a motto and now a foundational cornerstone of a multimillion dollar gift from two Drake alumni who have done just that in their lives. Larry and Kathi Zimpleman don’t disclose the specific amount of their gift, but it is said to be one of the largest donations to Drake in the school’s history.
They, along with Dean Alejandro Hernandez, are in the process of determining specific ways the donation will be put to use, but in our conversation with all three last Monday, a few things became clear as to the direction the Zimpleman College of Business will be headed.
The Zimplemans, Hernandez, the college president, Marty Martin, and today’s incoming students are committed to nurturing the study of business as a force for good in the world.
Defining ‘good’ may be elusive, however, the recognition that the next generation of students, as a group, is looking for careers that align with personal values, more so, than in past generations, means that institutions of higher learning need to be creative in addressing those concerns.
A more holistic approach has also been incorporated in the accreditation process, according to Hernandez:
“The idea is that embedded within a business school curriculum is the need to consider the externalities of globalization as one aspect of societal impact. Students need to consider all stakeholders, not just investors, in performance analysis.”
“Profits are important,’ said Kathi Zimpleman. “That's a given. But the behavior Larry has exemplified in his career at Principal, is that business has an obligation to give back to the community they’re in. And young people today [embrace'] the idea that ‘doing well and doing good’ are not mutually exclusive. We have two grandchildren and I want to leave them a better world and I want to leave everyone’s grandchildren a better world.”
The gift will make it possible for more scholarships to be awarded, and more opportunities for internships abroad, giving them an opportunity to have a ‘bigger panorama to develop future leaders who can help address global challenges.
Larry Zimpleman, who grew up near Williamsburg, didn’t have a passport in 1999, when his bosses assigned him the task of developing world markets for the company’s retirement businesses.
Listen to the podcast. You’ll hear a caller challenge the idea that Iowa businesses today are standing up to anti LGBTQ issues moving through the legislature, when in fact, the Iowa business community had made a stand on said issues in the past.
Zimpleman was CEO of the Principal Group from 2008 to 2015, so is not currently involved in active management, or lobbying this legislature. But he agreed with the callers sentiment, although stated most of those tough conversations take place behind closed doors with policy makers. Still, as a private citizen, he too is disappointed more business leaders are not speaking out.
Chuck Offenburger
We will have a panel discussion this coming Monday, March 20, to discuss Green County’s multi-cultural initiate. Zoom Link. Chuck Offenburger wrote a column last week about a sad experience they had working with a family that did not stay, and lessons his group learned from the experience.
Here is the panel for this Monday, as outlined by Chuck:
--Chuck Offenburger, of Jefferson and Des Moines, chairperson of the initiative’s steering committee, and a member of the board of directors of the sponsoring Greene County Development Corp. (our economic development agency).
--Ken Paxton, executive director of the Greene County Development Corp., a veteran of years of community development work in several communities, the last dozen or so in Greene County. He will speak and answer questions about why the economic development group decided to launch the multi-cultural initiative here.
--Mary Nieto, human resources director for the Greene County Medical Center for about the past seven years, during which she has led a highly-successful effort to recruit Latino employees and also from other nations and cultures to work in a variety of positions at the hospital. Mary, a native of California, is a Latina herself and is bilingual. She has been an enthusiastic supporter of the new multi-cultural initiative here.
--Sara Monroy Huddleston, of Storm Lake, is one of the most widely-known and respected Latinos in the state. A native of Mexico, she came to Iowa to attend Simpson College, married Storm Laker Matt Huddleston and moved to his hometown after college. For 30 years there now, she’s been a community and cultural leader as Storm Lake became one of the most diverse, prosperous and fastest-growing rural towns in Iowa. She has worked as a banker, social services director, 3-term member of the City Council, member of the Iowa Lationo Affairs Council, state legislative candidate, and now an associate in a law firm. She has been a key advisor to her friends in Greene County about their multi-cultural initiative, and is now considering an opportunity to become its full-time director.
For those of you living in towns grappling with the issue of growing your population base, please forward this column to community leaders to share ideas:
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Can social responsibility be taught in a business college?