President Obama Issues Challenge at the Kellogg School: MBA News

By Tim Dhoul Updated Dec 04, 2019

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Introduction
Kellogg School of Management students reminded of need to broaden perspective

President Obama spoke at the Kellogg School

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President Obama gave a speech at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University yesterday that was tailored to his business school audience, yet also represented a chance for him to defend his administration’s economic track record with midterm elections looming on the horizon.

"There is a reason why I came to a business school instead of a school of government. I actually believe business is the greatest force for prosperity and opportunity that the world has ever known,” President Obama said in a press release released by the Kellogg School of Management.

Obama asserted his belief that tomorrow’s business leaders are the foundations of a strong economy, but he urged the 500+ Kellogg School students in attendance to be responsible in their capitalistic endeavors.

“As you chase your own success, as we want you to do, I challenge you to cultivate ways to help more Americans chase theirs,” Obama said.

Kellogg School of Management students reminded of need to broaden perspective

It was President Obama’s way of bringing the subject round to a concession; that for all the talk of economic recovery in the US (and his administration’s part in this), improvements are not yet being felt by the many.

In so doing, he referenced the commencement speech he had given as a senator at Northwestern University in 2006, where he had warned against the effects of a culture that is often too inward-looking and urged graduates to grow their sense of perspective and empathy for the plight of others.

President Obama’s speech was originally planned to be a much smaller classroom affair, specifically for Kellogg School of Management students, Northwestern’s president Morton Schapiro revealed, before being upgraded at the bequest of the White House.

However, Obama very much had his business school audience in mind when he joked about his lack of an MBA degree – he attended Columbia University before picking up a JD from Harvard and teaching at the University of Chicago Law School – calling on his audience to run the numbers that would prove his point on why he thinks his political opponents’ economic plans are gravely misplaced.

“I was also really gratified how gracious he was, not just talking about the Kellogg School of Management, but more broadly about nanotechnology and a number of other things that we are world-class at [at] Northwestern," Schapiro said.

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Tim Dhoul

Tim is a writer with a background in consumer journalism and charity communications. He trained as a journalist in the UK and holds degrees in history (BA) and Latin American studies (MA).