DesJardins named Ralph Gross Chair in Business and the Liberal Arts

The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University has appointed Joseph DesJardins to the Ralph Gross Chair in Business and the Liberal Arts. DesJardins will deliver the inaugural address titled "Ethics of Sustainability" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13 in Centenary Room of the Quadrangle Building at SJU.

The Ralph Gross Chair in Business and the Liberal Arts has been established through a generous gift of the Gross estate. Ralph Gross graduated from Saint John's University in 1965 with a bachelor's degree in economics. He went on to pursue advanced studies in business and accounting at the University of Minnesota and later became a certified public accountant.

Gross began his career at Arthur Andersen Accounting and continued as comptroller at SPS Companies, a plumbing supply business in the Twin Cities. Gross later became part owner of SPS and, in 1999, president and CEO. Friends and family describe him as a gentleman, a trusted friend, and a man committed to his parents and siblings. He was known to his employees as an ethical businessman and a quiet leader.

DesJardins is a familiar face on campus. He taught philosophy at Villanova University for several years, and joined the CSB/SJU philosophy department in 1990. He became academic dean and associate provost in 2006, and served as vice provost from 2011-2014.

Among his publications are: Business Ethics: Decision-Making for Personal Integrity and Social Responsibility; Business, Ethics, and the Environment: Imagining a Sustainable Future; and An Introduction to Business Ethics. His writings have been translated into Japanese, French, and Chinese. Since 2012, he has been on the advisory board and as faculty for the Environmental Diplomatic Leadership Program at Tsukuba University in Japan.

DesJardins served as the executive director of the Society for Business Ethics from 2004-2008, before his appointment to the board in 2011, and currently serves as president for the organization. He has served the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) as workshop facilitator since 2007, and was co-founder and co-editor of the Journal of Peace and Justice Studies. 

The November inaugural lecture celebrates the life and legacy of Ralph Gross and DesJardins' leadership and influence in the fields of Business and the Liberal Arts.