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Julie Battilana to head new social enterprise program at HKS

Photo courtesy of Julie Battilana

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Julie Battilana, a highly regarded scholar on leadership and social innovation, has been named the Alan L. Gleitsman Professor of Social Innovation and faculty chair of the New World Social Enterprise Fellows Program (NWSEFP) at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS).

A native of France, Battilana earned her B.A. in sociology and economics, an M.A. in political sociology and an M.Sc. in organizational sociology and public policy from Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan. She also holds a degree from HEC Business School, and a joint Ph.D. in organizational behavior from INSEAD and in management and economics from Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan. Battilana’s research focuses on individuals and organizations seeking to produce effective and sustainable social change. In particular, her work examines hybrid organizations that pursue a social mission while engaging in commercial activities to sustain their operations.

“The New World Social Enterprise Fellows Program is designed to provide our students with the right resources, frameworks and connections to achieve social benefit,” said Patricia Bellinger, executive director of Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership (CPL). “CPL and HKS are grateful to the late Alan L. Gleitsman for his longstanding support of social activists at all stages in their careers at Harvard – and beyond – and look forward to amplifying our important work in this space with the creation of this fellowship.”