About

The McKenna Center for Human Development and Global Business realizes the social value of business by advancing research, collaboration, and education to serve human dignity and steward our shared resources.

Meet Our Experts

Faculty Staff

Our Mission

Through faculty research into the impact of AI and technology on worker well-being, the McKenna Center supports industry in identifying ethical challenges and imagining human-centered solutions through policy and governance. New research from the center explores how advancing digital technologies and human-computer interactions intersect with ethics, marginalization and human well-being, particularly in the Global South.

Convening business leaders and thinkers for conversations at the crossroads of shareholder value and human rights, the McKenna Center is building a global community of practice for corporations committed to caring for people and the planet. Integrity demonstrated at the highest levels of decision-making and applied to corporate supply chains affects meaningful change and supports sustainable business. The McKenna Center collects, assesses, and amplifies these best practices for uptake and impact.

We lead in education for disadvantaged entrepreneurs, facilitating programs worldwide to support individuals in building their own pathways out of poverty in more than 55 cities. And the McKenna Center facilitates teaching and service opportunities that connect Notre Dame students with purposeful consulting work that allows them to collaborate with entrepreneurs for a deeper understanding of the power of business to serve human dignity.

Our Approach

The McKenna Center champions inclusive capitalism at every level to build opportunity and improve lives. Five core values inform our work:

• Locally driven – rooted in the lived realities of the communities we serve.
• Policy-relevant – designed to inform decisions and drive systems change.
• Cross-sector – built in collaboration with universities, corporations, communities, and governments.
• Data-driven and forward-looking – informed by measurable outcomes and predictive insights.
• Human-centered – focused on dignity, agency, and inclusion.
  
  

Read about the gift that makes the work of the McKenna Center possible.