Professor Katherine White, an international thought leader in research related to ethical, prosocial and sustainable consumers behaviours, has been appointed Academic Director of the Peter P. Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics at the UBC Sauder School of Business.
White is a professor of Marketing and Behavioural Science at UBC Sauder, where she joined the faculty in 2011. In addition to teaching courses at the undergraduate, graduate and executive levels, she is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Marketing Research and is on the editorial review boards of the Journal of Consumer Research, the Journal of Marketing, and the Journal of Consumer Psychology.
White was identified as an up-and-coming Young Scholar by the Marketing Science Institute in 2009, and in 2015, was honoured by the American Marketing Association as one of the Top 5 Marketing Researchers in the world. She has been inducted into the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists at the Royal Society of Canada, and has received numerous awards for her research. White has also served as chair of the Marketing and Behavioural Science division at UBC Sauder from 2013-2017.
“In today’s business world, attitudes are shifting and people are increasingly exploring ways that business can have more purpose and contribute to society – making the work of the Peter P. Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics more relevant than ever,” explains UBC Sauder’s Dean, Robert Helsley. “With Kate’s extensive knowledge and research into the areas of ethics and sustainability, I’m confident she will help establish the Centre as a leading international voice in the application of ethical perspectives in business.”
The announcement of White’s appointment caps off a busy summer for the Centre. In addition to supporting curriculum developments for three new courses related to Sustainable Business Strategies, Social Finance and Philanthropy, the Centre offered guest lectures about responsible business and investing; presented at dozens of industry and professional events; provided media commentary on a range of responsible business topics; and sponsored a conference related to “The Prosocial Consumer.” The conference was developed and co-organized by White and UBC Sauder Professor Darren Dahl, and focused on the causes of, motivation for, and consequences of prosocial consumer behaviours, which include charitable giving and ethical and sustainable purchasing and consumption.
The Peter P. Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics was created at UBC Sauder in 2015 thanks to a generous donation by Ocean Spray Cranberries chairman Peter Dhillon. In addition to contributing to academic programming in ethics and values-based business across the entire school, the Centre advances business ethics and values-driven business practices through outreach and engagement with the business community, and support of student initiatives connected to sustainability, social enterprise, responsible investing and philanthropy.
