"Our leadership in sustainability and responsible business remains a core component of Lang's mission and values. This Strategic Plan illustrates our steadfast commitment to inspiring future leaders to use business as a force for good. As business schools around the world consistently recognize the importance of ethical and responsible business, and look to Lang for leadership in this area, we must move forward and evolve to further champion this important topic,"
Dr. Sara Mann Dean, Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics
The vision of the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics is to be recognized locally and globally for our commitment to developing future leaders for a sustainable and equitable world.
Reflecting the University of Guelph’s commitment to ‘Improve Life’, Lang’s mission is built upon the belief that ‘business as a force for good’® is important in the world. It is our mission to inspire purpose by promoting responsible and sustainable businesses and communities through interdisciplinary learning, problem-solving, and critical thinking.
Lang's Foundational Pillars
Our ability to inspire purpose and cultivate business as a force for good® in society is guided by, and established within, three foundational pillars:
Developing Sustainable Prosperity
Empowering People
Caring for the Planet
Our Values
Research with Impact
Diverse scholarly pursuits, with a focus on advancement of discipline-based theory, management practice, and public policy.
Community Engagement
Creating authentic and meaningful partnerships through community outreach.
Personal Integrity
Developing strong morals and ethics and following through on them in your actions.
Educational Innovation
Providing a supportive and challenging learning environment, in which students apply theory to real-world problems, and supporting instructors to be innovative and experimental in their teaching practices.
Lang’s Strategic Priorities
Lang has a bold mission that strives to inspire purpose towards business as a force for good®.
A key element of supporting this mission is ensuring our reputation for excellence in research, teaching, and service, and leadership in sustainability is clearly communicated. Reputation and resourcing will drive this priority forward and continue to help Lang excel in this area. By intentionally and strategically communicating our foundational pillars through the lens of business as a force for good®, we will be able to better inspire all Lang stakeholders and partner with our community.
Goals:
Enhance Lang’s domestic and international reputation for business as force for good
Develop innovative physical spaces that reflect Lang’s reputation for sustainability and collaboration
Selected activities:
Identify areas where Lang can affect its ranking with external agencies and analyze common key ranking criteria.
Map key Lang initiatives against selected SDGs e.g., Equity, Climate Action, Zero Hunger.
Leverage partnerships and external opportunities through the Institute for Sustainable Commerce.
Develop a new business as a force for good® action plan through a collaboratively process with Lang faculty, staff, and students.
Develop a new externally focused marketing plan that reflects Lang’s mission.
Lang’s mission, that sees business as a force for good® in the world, aligns with our deep commitment to reconciliation and indigenization, as well as equity, diversity, and inclusion. Through this commitment, we will ensure that we foster a thriving community of scholars, researchers, and leaders where each person is valued and supported.
Goals:
Support and Advance Reconciliation and Indigenous Initiatives.
Foster intercultural and global perspectives and experiences among Lang students, staff, and faculty.
Advance Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at Lang.
Selected activities:
Support and advance the recommendations in the University of Guelph’s Indigenous Initiatives Strategy by identifying areas where Lang can make key contributions.
Ensure Lang’s activities are in alignment with the Calls for Truth and Reconciliation.
Implement new Lang-specific awards, events and case competitions with an EDI focus.
Align Lang’s Action Plan with the University of Guelph’s Anti-Racism Action Plan.
Increase scholarships and bursaries for international students and for travel abroad support.
Leverage and support existing international relationships among Lang faculty and staff to foster further partnerships.
Our scholarship and research aim to have impact on the world around us by leveraging our unique disciplinary and interdisciplinary strengths.
Our scholars and researchers contribute to the development of business as a force for good® through our partnerships, knowledge mobilization/ translation, and our student-centred research training. Our research mission is to generate and mobilize excellent research that has a positive impact on business as a force for good.
Goals:
Elevate excellence.
Amplify the positive impact of our research
Promote partnership and collaboration
Embed research in all we do
Develop the research leaders of tomorrow
Selected activities:
Developmental research plans and mentorship for early career researchers.
Grant writing support program.
Share research achievements via the Lang annual research report and regular research communications.
Continued development of Lang’s Research Centres and Institutes.
Leverage strong internal and external academic collaborations to enhance our creation and mobilization of academic research knowledge.
Develop a scholarship strategy to optimize the use of available funding to support high-quality students.
Support research aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Providing innovative and exceptional training and educational opportunities to our communities of current and future leaders is central to inspire purpose in our students, faculty, staff, and community partners. Through collaborative and experiential learning at both the undergraduate and graduate levels we will help create a world where leaders use business as a force for good®.
Goals:
Develop innovative curricula and academic programs.
Foster a culture of educational experimentation, innovation, and excellence.
Strengthen experiential learning opportunities.
Enhance the graduate student learning environment.
Selected activities:
Conduct a review of the current program and determine (via curriculum mapping) courses where it would be appropriate to integrate additional content into the curriculum.
Design a process for integrating institutional cyclical reviews with AACSB review requirements.
Review AACSB recommendations related to program and course efficiencies.
Conduct intensive market analysis of both Ontario and the international landscape for grad programs and SWOT to identify opportunities for new programs.
Explore benefits of DE vs remote (hybrid/blended).
Develop and launch a Centre/Hub for Teaching Excellence to increase facilitation of shared best practices.
Increase experiential learning opportunities in capstone courses.
Provide a single source of information for all Lang graduate students by developing a SharePoint site with relevant documents, processes, etc. available.
Create a professional skill development plan for graduate students.
Investigate potential for exchange partnerships with international institutions.
Lang alumni, corporate and community partners are the ambassadors of our institutional mission, and it is our responsibility to foster and strengthen these relationships to build meaningful connections.
We have the privilege to inspire, train, and support the business leaders of today and tomorrow. Through our dedicated co and extra - curricular services, we can foster opportunities to inspire these leaders and entrepreneurs to use business as a force for good®.
Goals:
Build a strong entrepreneurial culture through training, education, and community partnerships.
Provide a competitive advantage to Lang students by building strong partnerships with external stakeholders.
Develop a strong alumni relations engagement culture.
Selected activities:
Design a dedicated, collaborative space for the Wood Centre.
Launch of entrepreneurship alumni network (hub alumni events).
Develop a dashboard for alumni giving
In partnership with the Business Career Development Centre, provide new opportunities for alumni to mentor current Lang graduate students.
Identify areas and goals that require resourcing to support their success.
Produce an annual career report aimed at both prospective employers and students; work in collaboration with marketing/communication
Focus on employer development by attracting new employers to post co-op opportunities and/or increase co-op jobs with existing employers.
Review Career Centre space needs and ensure an appropriate, learner-centred space is available.
