The McGowan Fellows Program: Preparing MBAs For Ethical Business Leadership

Now in its second decade of operation, the McGowan Fellows Program is continuing its quest to prepare MBA students for ethical leadership for corporate America. One of the most prestigious scholarships in business education circles, the McGowan Fellowship Program was established by the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund in 2010, in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, which has been blamed, at least in part, on ethical failures of business leaders.

The McGowan Fellowship Program intends to address that problem by helping shape outstanding MBA students into business leaders who “count social impact as well as shareholder value in their decision making.”

As a result of participating in the program, McGowan Fellows should develop a new perspective on the responsibilities and potential of business leadership. And as they establish their careers, they are expected to make ethical leadership and a commitment to social betterment key aspects of their organization’s ethos.

Only ten McGowan Fellows are named each year. Each one is an outstanding MBA student enrolled in and selected by ten of the nation’s leading business schools, ranked in the top 25 business schools in the nation by either U.S. News or Businessweek.

Candidates are selected by their graduate business schools following their first MBA year. In addition to excellent academic achievement – placing in the top 5% percent of their class – Fellows must have demonstrated strong leadership skills. Candidates submit an application that includes essays on such topics as the greatest challenges facing tomorrow’s business leaders, and how industry leaders can address business challenges within a financially viable and socially responsible framework.

The 2023 cohort began their year-long program in August. Here are the ten Fellows:

Rebecca Bearse, Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business;

Connor Bellows, Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management;

Patrick Nguyen Burden, University of Michigan Stephen M. ross School of Business;

Christopher Deitrick, Columbia University Business School;

Grace Eun Yo, University of Pennsylvania Wharton School;

Praveen Kumar Krishnamurthy, University of Virginia Darden School of Business;

Eric Saldanha, Georgetown University McDonough School of Business;

Aditya Samant, Duke University Fuqua School of Business;

Gauri Seth, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management;

Catherine Wetlinski, Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business;

A list of past McGowan Fellows can be found here.

In addition to covering full tuition for students’ second year in their MBA programs, the program emphasizes experiential, values-based leadership training. Throughout their award year, Fellows participate in:

• Principled Leadership Development Programming that emphasizes leadership training from the Center For Creative Leadership and one-on-one values-based coaching with McGowan alumni.
• An annual McGowan Symposium on Business Leadership & Ethics, focused on pressing ethical questions in business and society and ethical decision-making. The 2022 symposium is entitled “The Future of Being True,” hosted by Georgetown University McDonough School of Business.
• A problem-solving social impact project that requires the Fellows to address a complex societal issue and collaborate with organizations working on the issue. Students devote 2–3 hours a week on average toward completing their work. This year’s project is focused on the intersection of jobs and homelessness.
• A winter retreat (time commitment: 2.5 days) and a spring retreat (2.5-3 days) where Fellows continue their leadership training and work on the social impact project.

To reinforce the importance of ethical leadership and leverage a larger impact on MBA education, the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund awarded its first McGowan Fund Fellows Program Ethical Leader of the Year Award to Charles F. Lowrey, chairman and CEO at Prudential Financial. The award was made in June at the Society for Human Resource Management 2022 Annual Conference and Expo in New Orleans.

Upon receiving the award, Lowrey said, “The McGowan Fund is to be applauded for its efforts to spotlight the enduring importance of ethical leadership in business, particularly as people’s trust in leaders and institutions continues to erode around the world.”

Raising the visibility of the program is intended to send a clear message: Every MBA program should be developing principled, values-based leadership in their students. Increasingly, corporate boards are expecting their executive leadership to be thinking beyond just the value they bring to shareholders or direct customers. They need to consider how their companies affect the widest possible range of stakeholders in society.

These principles have sometime been referred to as “conscious capitalism.” According to Diana Spencer, Executive Director for the McGowan Fund, that’s the idea that when capitalism is practiced ethically and consciously, it should do more than make profits, it should elevate humanity by aiming at higher purposes, taking into account the broader needs of society, and building a culture of trust and accountability for all those it serves.

Now the task becomes a matter of follow-through. It’s time for MBA programs across the nation to require that principles of ethical leadership be included in their curricula so that a broader range of students can be prepared for the redefined “business as usual” expectations of future business leaders.

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The McGowan Fellows Program is intended to honor and embody the values of William McGowan, who received a scholarship that made it possible for him to attend Harvard Business School. A venture capitalist, McGowan founded and served as CEO at MCI as he built out its fledgling communications network. As chairman, McGowan raised capital for the growing company and set up many of the regional carriers that formed the basis of MCI Communications’ network. During his 24 years as the head of MCI, McGowan transformed the company into a $9.5 billion telecommunications giant.