Social responsibility advocate, Ruth Rosenbaum, to speak May 3 at Goshen College

 

GOSHEN, Ind. – Ruth Rosenbaum has been instrumental in helping Fortune 500 companies to implement socially responsible policies and is recognized internationally for her dedicated work for economic justice. On May 3, she will give a public lecture, “Changing Corporate Behavior,” at Goshen College in Umble Center at 7:30 p.m. This is a free event, but a ticket is required to reserve seats.

Rosenbaum was a key figure in Procter & Gamble's introduction of the first, mass-marketed fair trade coffee product. She is executive director of the Center for Reflection, Education and Action, Inc. (CREA), a social-economic research and education organization, unique in that it starts its analysis of social and economic systems from the perspective of their effect on the lives of persons and communities who are economically poor. CREA also provides a multifaceted service for individual and organizational investors and investment managers who are committed to socially responsible investment. Rosenbaum is the creator of the Purchasing Power Index, a transcultural measurement of the purchasing power of wages used to determine what constitutes a sustainable living wage.

Rosenbaum is associate professor for research at the Labor Education Center at the University of Connecticut. She served as co-chair of the Global Corporate Accountability Issue Group of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility for nine years, where she was a member of the tri-national faith-based task force that produced the Principles for Global Corporate Responsibility: Bench Marks for Measuring Business Performance. Rosenbaum is a member of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Stakeholder Council and was recently elected Vice Chair of the Council. She has addressed the Congressional Executive Commission in China on the issue of Codes of Conduct, as well as traveling to countries around the world and working on issues related to the contract supplier system and sustainable economic development. Rosenbaum writes and speaks internationally on issues related to economic justice. In 2003, she was honored as an “Outstanding Woman of Connecticut” by the United Nations Association.

Rosenbaum received a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from Hunter College, a master’s degree in molecular biology from Hunter College and in theology from Manhattan College, and a doctorate in social economics and social justice from Boston College.

To reserve a seat, call the Welcome Center at (574) 535-7566.

Goshen College, established in 1894, is a four-year residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” Kaplan’s “Most Interesting Colleges” guide and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit https://www.goshen.edu/.

Editors: For more information, contact News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.