The Business of Building a Better Society
Duke’s Fuqua School of Business is home to The Dialogue Project, an initiative to explore the role business can play to reduce polarization and improve civic dialogue.
Business is one part of society that understands how to do this. Every day, successful businesses bring people together with diverse experiences and points-of-view to work toward common goals. The Dialogue Project will explore how these skills can be expanded more broadly in our society, and equip business leaders with new tools required to succeed in the emerging stakeholder economy.
Recent research (Edelman 2022 Trust Barometer) reveals that business is one of our most trusted institutions, ranked higher than government, media and NGOs. This represents an opportunity and a responsibility for business to promote the kind of dialogue and consensus that are critical not just for business success, but also for a healthy democracy.
Leadership
Interim Dean Mary Frances Luce
In addition to being the first woman to serve as Fuqua’s dean, Mary Frances Luce is the first Fuqua alumnus to hold the position.
Fascinated by the influence of emotions on decision-making, Luce has enjoyed a 30-year career as a specialist in behavioral marketing.
Luce has a strong and balanced track record of academic leadership, previously serving as Fuqua’s associate and senior associate dean of faculty for six years.
Bob Feldman
Bob, a longtime senior marketing and communications executive, is the founder of the Dialogue Project, a program that engages the world’s business leaders on what role business can play to reduce polarization in society, improve civil discourse and create a more productive climate for business productivity.
Prior to founding the Dialogue Project, Bob had been vice chair of ICF Next, a global marketing firm; head of communications and corporate marketing at DreamWorks Animation; and chief executive officer of WPP’s GCI Group, a global communications consultancy.
Steering Committee
For more information about The Dialogue Project at Duke connect with our team at dialogueproject@fuqua.duke.edu.