Johnson & Johnson Makes Generous Gift to Support the University’s UN Sustainable Development Goals SDG Dashboard
The funds will be used to further the platform’s goal for global business schools to share their best practice impacts on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and positively transform business education.
David Steingard, Ph.D., associate professor of management and director of the SDG Dashboard, discusses the role of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in higher education at the 2020 World Economic Forum. Photo by Elma Okic/Courtesy of the UN Glob
Johnson & Johnson made a generous gift to Saint Joseph’s SDG Dashboard, a data analytics tool that helps business schools and universities to share best practices and track institutional progress toward achieving the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The University has been at the forefront of this push with the SDG Dashboard, as a growing number of institutions seek to accelerate achievement of the goals by 2030.
The SDG Dashboard was developed by David Steingard, Ph.D., an associate professor of management and director of the SDG Dashboard, and his colleagues in 2017. Since launch, the Dashboard working group has evolved to include Erivan K. Haub School of Business faculty and students, and has nearly doubled in size. The SDG Dashboard allows institutions to concretely capture and showcase how they are contributing to the 17 goals. The goals seek global and cross-sector solutions to some of society’s most intractable problems, including poverty, gender and racial inequality, environmental threats and ending conflict and war.
“This new exciting initiative with our SDG Dashboard extends our partnership with Johnson & Johnson where our students enjoy many career opportunities in finance, food marketing, pharmaceutical business and data analytics,” says Joseph A. DiAngelo, Ed.D. ‘70, dean of the Haub School of Business. “We are grateful to be aligned with such a cutting-edge company who is a leader in its industry.”
The funds from the leading health care company will allow Steingard and his team to expand the SDG Dashboard’s applications, grow their network and to connect with new business communities around the world.
“Johnson & Johnson has been a leader in sustainability and this generous gift will allow us to continue the important work we are doing and provide invaluable opportunities for our students,” says Steingard. “One of the greatest parts about this project is the experience it provides our students.”
By working with forward-thinking faculty and staff at global academic institutions, Saint Joseph's students are obtaining firsthand experience managing complex projects across cultures and time zones. This experience has proven to be invaluable enrichment to their academic studies and a competitive edge in the marketplace for employment. The SDG Dashboard team is comprised of undergraduate and graduate students from the Haub School of Business and College of Arts & Sciences.
Johnson & Johnson has been committed to reaching their own SDG goals and, beginning this year, announced a new comprehensive set of goals to change the trajectory of health for humanity.
Joseph Wolk ’88, Executive vice president and chief financial officer of Johnson & Johnson commented: “Effective management of sustainability matters is fundamental to a business’s ability to drive long-term growth and value to all stakeholders. As an alumnus and member of the Board of Trustees, I am incredibly proud of Saint Joseph’s University’s initiative to further transform sound business practices on a global scale through the SDG Dashboard platform. On behalf of Johnson & Johnson, we are pleased to be able to support this important initiative.”
Steingard is excited about the future of the SDG Dashboard, explaining that the gift will allow his team to increase its impact and build on the international attention the SDG Dashboard has already garnered.
