EUGENE, Ore. - (March 18, 2009) - Tom Osdoba has been named managing director of the Center for Sustainable Business Practices at the University of Oregon's Lundquist College of Business. He will assume his new role on April 1.
Osdoba is a social entrepreneur and strategic advisor with more than 20 years experience advancing sustainability. He recently served as manager of sustainable economic development in Portland's Office of Sustainable Development where he created a framework to guide future economic development strategies and led efforts to launch a collaborative, multi-sector sustainability institute.
As director of the Center for Sustainable Business Practices, he will lead efforts in research, teaching and outreach activities to further sustainable business practices that balance social, environmental and financial responsibilities. Osdoba will work with business leaders throughout the state, as well as university leaders, to "think boldly" about sustainability.
"The center can play an important role in the state's continued successes by leading the way in understanding sustainability from a business perspective," said Osdoba. "The Oregon business community aspires to global leadership and we have to work together and learn how to be audacious."
Osdoba previously served as sustainability director for Vancouver, B.C. He also created the Canada Carbon Trust in 2007, a collaborative, business-led initiative to mobilize and accelerate investments to reduce carbon emissions across all economic sectors. In addition, Osdoba started his own consulting practice where he helped Best Buy Company launch a national recycling program for consumer electronics. He is also a founding director of the North American Eco-Industrial Development Council.
Dennis Howard, dean of the Lundquist College of Business, recognizes Osdoba's leadership, experience and commitment to building bridges between the academic community and the business community as qualities that make him well suited for his new position.
"Having occupied senior management roles in two of the region's leading cities on sustainability, Osdoba has a deep knowledge of the issues that are most important to our students, faculty and business partners," said Howard. "His experience in helping businesses work to develop and expand their sustainability-related programs, as well as work within emerging public policy frameworks, supports the college's own interdisciplinary approach to these issues. Tom shares the Center for Sustainable Business Practices' mission of being an international leader in sustainable research, teaching and business executive development."
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of the 62 leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.
Contacts: Beth Hjelm, University of Oregon, 541-346-1493, bhjelm@uoregon.edu;
Pat Walsh, The Ulum Group, 541-434-7021, pwalsh@ulum.com
Links: Center for Sustainable Business Practices, http://lcb.uoregon.edu/csbp/;
Lundquist College of Business, http://lcb.uoregon.edu/
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