Introduction
Dawn Elm, PhD, is Professor Emerita of business ethics at the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business. Dr. Elm retired from St. Thomas in 2020 after 32 years of employment. Her latest faculty position was the David A. and Barbara Koch (Graco) distinguished professor of business ethics and leadership. Elm also served in various leadership positions at the university and internationally over the course of her career including Chair of the Social Issues Division of the National Academy of Management, President and CEO of the Center for Ethical Organizations at the Opus College of Business, and Executive Director of the Society for Business Ethics. She is widely published in the field of business ethics and is the recipient of the 2017 Sumner Marcus Lifetime Achievement Award of the Social Issues Division of the Academy of Management.
Dr. Elm has experience in strategy consulting, ethical decision-making training, product and process development, and corporate governance. She has served as an independent director in the banking and construction industries on public, private and family business boards. She has also served on non-profit boards in the Twin Cities area.
Elm continues to pursue research, consulting and teaching interests in business ethics, strategy, leadership, corporate governance. Prior to coming to St. Thomas, she worked in product development with the Procter & Gamble Company in Cincinnati, Ohio, after receiving her BS in chemical engineering, summa cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She received her PhD in strategic management and organization from the University of Minnesota in 1989.