We are grateful to George Bauer, an emeritus trustee and alumnus of the university, and his wife, Carol Bauer’s generous gift to endow $5 million to establish the Bauer Leadership Center at Olin Business School in May 2016.

The George and Carol Bauer Leadership Center will help accelerate the university’s efforts to develop exceptional leaders. A defining characteristic of the new center will be its emphasis on cultivating leaders who measure success both in what they achieve for their organizations and how they impact their communities and society through the values that they demonstrate.

The center’s mission is Creating knowledge about best practices in values-centered leadership, educating and inspiring the next generation of values-centered leaders, and transforming how businesses think about and practice leadership.

The center believes one of the most effective ways to educate and inspire students about values-centered leadership is for students to hear directly from leaders who exemplify both business excellence and personal character.

“With this new center, we would like to find ways for young leaders to cultivate their own value systems and hopefully embrace them as they make decisions for their institutions as well as in their personal lives.” – George Bauer

Through the course “Defining Moments: Lessons in Leadership and Character from the Top,” the center invites exemplary leaders to talk about their leadership journey, the role that personal values and character plays in their career, and the key choice points that shaped the trajectory of their character and their career. Students are encouraged to develop a plan for how they will balance leadership impact with personal integrity throughout their careers.

Defining Moments speakers for 2017: