Mike Caslin, Fulbright Scholarship Awardee
Caslin invited to lecture at the prestigious Letterkenny School of Technology School of Business, County Donegal, Republic of Ireland
KINGSTON, NY, USA, May 21, 2020 -- The J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board has awarded Michael Caslin III, Founder and President of the Global Center for Social Entrepreneurship Network (GCSEN Foundation), a prestigious fellowship to lecture and do research in Ireland as a visiting Fulbright Professor. It is believed to be one of the first Fulbright awards for a distinguished career in thought leadership and social venture activation related to Social Entrepreneurship.
Being invited to go to Ireland under a Fulbright Scholarship to research, lecture and develop best practices in Social Entrepreneurship there is a humbling and exciting opportunity. ”
— Mike Caslin, Founder & President, GCSEN Foundation
Mr. Caslin, known to his many students and colleagues as “Professor Cas”, was invited to lecture under the Fulbright Initiative at the Letterkenny School of Technology’s School of Business in Letterkenny, County Donegal, Republic of Ireland. His position will include lecturing at the university on innovation and leadership in social entrepreneurship; research and publication of case studies of social ventures; revitalizing social entrepreneurship curricula; and contributing to the development of the Regional Social Entrepreneurship Centre for County Donegal. In offering the opportunity to Mr. Caslin, Letterkenny’s School of Business Head of School, Michael Margey, wrote, “GCSEN would hold significant and strategic interest for the Business School and offers us the potential to develop a viable and on-going relationship with world-class social entrepreneurship best practices…and would rejuvenate our developments in this area between our existing partnerships with local government in Donegal and Derry, Northern Ireland.”
Upon receiving the news of the award, Caslin said, “I am humbled, grateful and inspired by the opportunity provided by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board to return to Ireland and give back to the land of my ancestors. As an entrepreneur, business and non-profit leader, and as Founder of GCSEN, I’ve helped develop academically rigorous, field-tested methods and best practices in Social Entrepreneurship, to help people make meaning, make money and move the world to a better place. Going back to Ireland to help impart these practices on a university level is a dream come true, especially within an institution that is excited about the possibilities for its students and the local economy. It’s an essential next step toward building a global 4P movement for People, Profit, Planet and Place. With the strategic support and counsel of the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation for GCSEN Foundation, this Fulbright award was made possible.”
Upon offering the award, Paul Winfree, Chair of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board wrote, “Your grant is a reflection of your leadership and contributions to society. The Fulbright Program is devoted to increasing mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. As a Grantee you will join the ranks of many distinguished participants including 60 Nobel Laureates, 86 Pulitzer Prize Winners, 74 MacArthur Fellows, and thousands of leaders across the private, public and non-profit sectors. In congratulating you, we hope that the Fulbright experience will be deeply rewarding professionally and personally, and that you will share the knowledge and experience you gain with many others throughout your life.”
An internationally recognized thought leader of Social Entrepreneurship, Mike Caslin currently lectures at SUNY New Paltz School of Business (NY), and Saint Peter’s University Business School (NJ). He is a featured speaker, educator, and mentor at Wheaton College (Norton MA) and past faculty member of Babson College, CUNY-Baruch College Zicklin School of Business, Marist College School of Business and Manhattanville College. As Co-founder and CEO for twenty years of NFTE (Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship) he was instrumental in propelling that organization’s engagement of over 1.8 million students and over 4000 teachers, while raising over $100 million in funding. Caslin has also been a subject matter expert presenting before the U.N., U.S. Congress and The White House.
Caslin has spent the last three decades researching, lecturing and facilitating efforts to promote social entrepreneurship on a global scale. GCSEN’s leadership and influence in the field of Social Entrepreneurship in higher education continues to build, as seen in its support of Wheaton College’s successful effort in 2017 to create enhanced social entrepreneur programming, facilitated by visionary grants of over $10M from DDSF, the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation of Bethesda MD.
In referring Caslin to the Fulbright Board, Dr. Mary Kate Naatus, Ph.D., KPMG Dean, School of Business, Saint Peter’s University (NJ) wrote, “Mike Caslin is an excellent candidate for this opportunity and has tremendous experience as a founder, fundraiser, strategic advisor, leader and expert in higher education, pedagogy and learning outcomes. I have worked closely with Mike in his impactful work, such as curriculum development, social entrepreneurship education, mentorship and thought leadership. He is an expert at providing a strong theoretical underpinning to the appropriate business functional knowledge, as needed to understand entrepreneurship IP, also infusing real world projects that help to transform students’ mindsets towards new ventures, helping them to think of themselves as entrepreneurs and leaders.”
GCSEN has created an array of offerings including on-line blended learning Social Entrepreneurship platforms for college students and adult learners, and has recently authored the print and e-book, “GET TO WOW, EXPLORING YOUR INNER SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR” featured on Amazon. Additionally, with the support of DDSF and campus partner Wheaton College, GCSEN has embarked on its Social Venture Research Institute initiative, providing bootcamp, networking and publication opportunities in social venture best practices to GCSEN Fellows and alumni, college faculty and administrators, business and non-profit leaders.
GCSEN has been featured in numerous publications and media platforms, including MarketWatch, Yahoo Finance, APR’s MarketWatch and as an “On-trendpreneur” for higher education in Trends Journal. The New England Journal of Higher Education stated, “GSCEN’s research has conclusively shown that Social Entrepreneurship education results in significant content knowledge gains retained by students; shows significant gains in self-confidence; is ranked highly as a life-changing learning experience by students; and is highly recommended by students to their peers. Additionally, 70% of GSCEN student participants plan to create “4P” Social Enterprises, for People, Profit, Planet and Place in the coming decade.”
The GCSEN Foundation is an IRS-approved 501(c-3) not-for-profit organization. For more information about GCSEN or Mike Caslin, contact mike@gcsen.com
or call 212-444-2071.