Co-op prepares business leaders for complexity, not certainty

What if business education started with a different question: rather than maximize profit, how do you lead with impact?

The new Humanity in Business Leaders Program in Elon University’s Martha and Spencer Love School of Business is built around a 3+Co-op model designed to challenge how students think about the role of business and their place in it.

Aligned with the foundational values of the Love School of Business, which is committed to preparing students for leadership in a rapidly changing workforce, the idea for the program was developed by:

• Associate Professor Brittany Mercado, chair of the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship
• Frank S. Holt, Jr. Professor of Business Leadership and Professor Rob Moorman
• Associate Professor Elena Kennedy
• Executive in Residence and Elon parent Kevin Trapani P’07, P’23, P’24

For faculty leading the effort, that shift is intentional.

“For decades, business education has focused heavily on efficiency and profit maximization,” Kennedy said. “We are seeing the outcomes of that across society. This program is about helping students think differently about the role business can play.”

Instead of adding another course or certificate, the program reworks the full experience. Students spend three years on campus, then step into a yearlong, full-time role in Charlotte, gaining nearly nine months inside an organization before they graduate.

That time matters.

Students in Elon’s 3+Co-op program spend three years on campus before completing a yearlong, full-time role in Charlotte.

“Instead of a short internship, students are able to take on more meaningful work and see how decisions actually play out over time,” Kennedy said.

The program is not just about where students work. It is about how they think while they are there. From the start, students are asked to wrestle with questions that do not have clean answers. What do you prioritize when business goals conflict with human impact? How do you make decisions when the “right” choice is not obvious?

“One of our goals is not to tell students what values they should have,” Kennedy said. “It is to help them understand how to think through their own values and how those will shape their decisions.”

While the structure may feel new, the foundation was already in place.

“For us, this work was happening in pieces,” Mercado said. “When we brought it together, we realized how much expertise and energy already existed.”

That realization shifted the approach. Instead of building something entirely new, faculty focused on connecting what was already working and creating space to go further.

“Faculty often have ambitious ideas they want to try but are limited by what is manageable across multiple sections,” Mercado said. “Creating a smaller, cohort-based program allows those ideas to actually come to life.”

Faculty often have ambitious ideas they want to try but are limited by what is manageable across multiple sections. Creating a smaller, cohort-based program allows those ideas to actually come to life.

The cohort becomes especially important in Charlotte, a city experiencing rapid growth where students may find themselves working on challenges that do not come with straightforward solutions, from housing affordability to market-driven approaches to community needs.

Industry partners have helped shape that experience from the beginning. A founding board made up of leaders across sectors has pushed faculty to think more directly about what students need to be ready on day one.

“There is a strong interest from industry in helping shape this work,” Kennedy said. “People want to be part of developing the next generation of leaders.”

At its core, the program is designed to help students connect technical business skills with judgment, context and responsibility. The approach reflects a broader shift in business education, said Kennedy and Mercado. Knowing how to make a decision is only part of the equation. Understanding the impact of that decision matters just as much.

“Business can be a powerful source of change, for better or worse,” Kennedy said. “In moments of disruption, like the one we are in now, there is an opportunity to shape that change in more thoughtful ways.”

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. Innovation often starts by uncovering what is already there.
   Elon’s program did not begin with a blank slate. Faculty across the business school were already teaching and researching aspects of humane leadership. Bringing those efforts together revealed a level of expertise and momentum that had not been fully recognized.
2. Smaller programs can unlock bigger ideas.
   Faculty often scale back their most ambitious teaching approaches to fit multiple course sections. By designing a cohort-based program, Elon created space for more immersive experiences, from live cases to deeper discussions that are difficult to deliver on a large scale.
3. Define your goal before you design the program.
   There are many ways to approach “business for good,” from research centers to service initiatives to curriculum changes. Elon’s approach centers on student development and humane leadership, which shaped every design decision that followed.