The Jon M. Huntsman School of Business announced that Stephen R. Covey, an internationally recognized authority on leadership and a best-selling author, has agreed to join its faculty as a tenured, full professor at Utah State University and the first incumbent of the Jon M. Huntsman Presidential Chair in Leadership.
Dean Douglas D. Anderson called this great news for students at the Huntsman School of Business and predicted it will give the school added momentum as it continues to emphasize the importance of innovative, ethical leadership.
Covey is best known for his book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” His books have sold more than 20 million copies in 38 languages and “Forbes” named the 7 Habits book one of the top 10 most influential management books ever written.
Covey said he has been impressed with work being done by The Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence, an organization in the Huntsman School of Business that helps companies and organizations focus on principles that create a culture of continuous improvement through employee-empowerment and effective leadership to become more competitive and efficient.
“I have great respect and interest in what The Shingo Prize has been doing and in the transformational work underway at the Huntsman School of Business,” Covey said. “Companies that have implemented principles taught by The Shingo Prize have made dramatic and measurable progress in achieving operational excellence.”
Covey was inducted into the Shingo Academy in 2002. His relationship with the Huntsman School of Business was further strengthened with his participation in the May 2009 Shingo Prize Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, resulting in the alliance between Covey and Huntsman School of Business.
Covey will play a prominent role in the 22nd Annual Shingo Prize Conference and Awards Gala, May 17-21 in Salt Lake City, Utah where he will conduct interactive learning sessions and honor Shingo award recipients.
“Dr. Covey’s life’s work has been to teach principle-centered leadership and that is a key part of what we do here at the Huntsman School of Business,” Anderson said. “We know the work we will do with him will leave a legacy in the lives of our students.”
The announcement, made in Salt Lake City by Utah State University President Stan L. Albrecht and Jon M. Huntsman, included news that the Huntsman School of Business is launching a drive to develop funding for a Stephen R. Covey Center for Leadership.
“Professor Covey will give occasional lectures at our main campus in Logan, work with faculty and collaborate with The Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence, while he helps us establish the Covey Center for Leadership,” Anderson said.
Anderson said the Stephen R. Covey Center for Leadership will house Covey’s works on principle-based leadership and “will leverage the impact and extend the influence of Dr. Covey’s life-long work and his writings.”
“The center will be created to bring together students, scholars and practitioners of leadership around the world,” Anderson said. “It will serve a vital role in preparing the next generation of principled leaders.”
Covey said, “Because of its deep commitment to the long-term promotion of universal, timeless principles of success in life and business-principles such as integrity, trust and service - I’m absolutely thrilled to associate myself with the Huntsman School. The leaders and faculty just seem to ‘get it.’ They understand that by instilling in today’s students a principled, new mindset and skill-set - one equal to the complex demands and challenges of today’s new global, economic, societal reality - they will produce generations of leaders who will not only serve and lead their families and communities with greatness; they will attract to the organizations and teams they lead, the world’s most talented, innovative, trustworthy people. Together they will solve the world’s toughest problems and will create true value. They will lead lives of extraordinary contribution.”
In 2007, Jon M. Huntsman donated $25 million to the Huntsman School of Business and pledged to support its ongoing efforts to become a top-tier business school. In May of 2009, he said he would help fund two presidential chairs, offering the Huntsman School of Business the opportunity to draft top professors who will become key players in transforming the school. Presidential chairs are faculty positions that are either partially or entirely funded by private donations to the university.
“Stephen R. Covey is the ideal individual to help lift the school of business to a position of leadership among America’s premier institutions,” Huntsman said. “The insights he will impart to our students will generate a wave of leaders educated specifically to manage ethics-based organizations which practice trust and exemplify integrity. Dr. Covey is uniquely qualified to help bring to fruition the strategic vision for the school and to fulfill the promise of greatness which Dean Douglas Anderson and his gifted faculty truly represent.”
Anderson said Covey will be a “research scholar” and the school will benefit from the work he will continue to do worldwide.
Covey is co-founder and vice chairman of FranklinCovey, a firm with offices in 123 countries. Covey will continue to travel the world working directly with leaders and organizations that seek guidance implementing the principles he teaches. He has written or co-written more than a dozen books and has seven more in the works. Covey was recognized in 1996 as one of “Time” magazine’s 25 most influential Americans and one of “Sales and Marketing Management’s” top 25 power brokers.
“Dr. Covey believes in living his life in crescendo,” Anderson said. “This means his best years and our best years are ahead. It’s clear he’s not slowing down. We look forward to the amazing and innovative things we’ll be able to do together.”
The Jon M. Huntsman Presidential Chair in Leadership is partially funded by Huntsman in support of furthering the mission, vision and purposes of the Huntsman School of Business. Funds allocated to support presidential chairs may be used to support faculty salary, instructional activities, research, or other creative activities of the incumbent chair holder.
The Shingo Prize was established in 1988 to educate, assess and recognize world-class organizations for creating a culture of continuous improvement through employee-empowerment and effective leadership. The philosophy of The Shingo Prize is that a culture of continuous improvement is achieved by focusing on principles of operational excellence, aligning management systems and implementing improvement techniques throughout an entire organization. More information on The Shingo Prize and the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business may be found at www.shingoprize.org and www.huntsman.usu.edu.
