University of Oregon Lundquist College of Business Instructor Joshua Skov is among the thought leaders reinventing business education on an international scale, according to The Aspen Institute.

Skov's course, “Life-Cycle Assessment, Life-Cycle Thinking, and Business Strategy" earned The Aspen Institute's 2019 Ideas Worth Teaching Award.

The Aspen Institute is a nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank with the aim of improving the human condition through its leadership initiatives, conferences, and partnerships. The institute annually bestows its Ideas Worth Teaching awards to celebrate “exceptional courses that prepare future business leaders to tackle society's largest challenges and create a more inclusive—and just—version of capitalism."

Ten courses from business schools around the world are selected each year in a highly competitive process, recognizing the key role that business schools play in shaping decision-making both inside and outside of companies. Faculty and courses selected provide learning experiences that equip managers of tomorrow with the context, skills, and decision-making capabilities needed to lead in an increasingly complex business environment.

Past winners have included representatives from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cornell University, Yale University, Harvard University, Wake Forest University, Tel-Aviv University, among others.

Skov said he is a long-time Aspen Institute admirer.

“I view myself as aligned with the institute's ongoing and important work for many years, so this is both a pleasure and validation," Skov said.

Skov added that his favorite part of the course for which he won the award is the student team projects because they embody what students have learned and their application for real, live clients. Student projects in the course have performed lifecycle analyses of plant-based foods, food packaging alternatives, alternative fuels, reusable plates and flatware, and more. A few of the partner companies in the recent past include Sunlight Solar, NW Natural, Coconut Bliss, Amy's Kitchen, Yogi Tea, and others.

Skov is the second Lundquist College of Business faculty member to receive recognition from The Aspen Institute Business and Society program. Ryan Cabinte, instructor in the college's Center for Sustainable Business Practices, received the award in 2014 when he was an associate dean at the Presidio Graduate School. He was recognized in relation to his course “Market Failure and the Regulatory Environment."

The award also further enhances the college's reputation for advancing sustainable business. The Princeton Review also recently ranked the college's Oregon MBA as a top five Green MBA program.

—AnneMarie Knepper-Sjoblom '05, Lundquist College Communications