At Augustana College, we believe higher education should prepare students not just for their first job, but for lives of purpose and impact. That’s more than a mission statement — it’s a design principle. And right now, we’re putting that principle into action in bold and boundless ways: student-first, educator-led, and future-ready.
This spring, we launched Business for Humanity, a high-impact, interdisciplinary program that challenges conventional ideas of what business education should be — and what kind of leader it should cultivate.
This initiative reflects Augustana’s conviction that the future of business leadership will belong to those who lead with clarity, creativity and compassion. The program was developed collaboratively by faculty and staff who asked a bold and necessary question: What if we built business education around human purpose — not just profit?
The result is a flexible, integrated experience where students majoring in business or international business pair their studies with a second field in the liberal arts — from public health to philosophy to political science. Alongside their coursework, students participate in a fall retreat and monthly alumni-led dinners centered on big questions.
These are the kinds of experiences that connect learning across time, space and discipline — and help students see themselves as leaders long before they graduate.
As a migration scholar and anthropologist, I’ve spent much of my career studying what it means to live, lead and learn across boundaries. I’ve also seen how systems can open — or close — doors for students, especially those who are first-generation, international or underrepresented.
One of the things I love most about this program is how it was designed to remove barriers.
It doesn’t add credits. It doesn’t create new silos. Instead, it reinforces a clear purpose: connecting the practice of business to the business of being human.
This is what Bold & Boundless learning looks like — student-first, educator-led and future-ready. It reflects a quiet transformation taking place across Academic Affairs — not just in our curriculum, but in our culture. We’re investing in the people who make learning happen and clearing the path for them to do their best work.
And we’re seeing results: more engaged students, more meaningful mentorship, and more programs like this one that align education with the world our graduates are entering — and shaping.
Business for Humanity is one example of what becomes possible when we trust educators to lead and when we build around the lived experience of our students. It’s a program with heart, strategy and long-term impact.
Because the future of business is human. And Augustana is preparing students to lead it.
Dianna Shandy, PhD, is provost and vice president of Academic Affairs at Augustana College. She can be reached at [email protected]. For more information on Business for Humanity, visit augustana.edu.
