Ethics and social responsibility entered the business school curriculum in the 1980s and got even bigger after the Enron and WorldCom scandals. Now, every business school includes ethics and social responsibility in its curriculum, either as self-standing courses or woven into other coursework, says Rick Cosier, dean of Purdue University’s business school and chair-elect of the AASCB Board of Directors.

Although ethical issues are not a driving factor in a public company’s stock performance, Cosier says, “I believe that in the long run, high integrity and social responsibility are good for business and good for profits.”

Dave Wilson, president and CEO of the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) believes that even beyond the curriculum, MBA students have a growing interest in community service. “People coming out of MBA programs want to do more for society,” he says.

Many MBA students are members of Net Impact, an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to grow and strengthen a community of new leaders who use business to improve the world. The organization supports emerging leaders in corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, nonprofit management, international development and environmental sustainability.

Team MBA, an initiative spearheaded by GMAC, encourages MBA students, faculty, staff and others to organize community service projects or participate in charity events to promote the goodwill of the MBA. Recently, for example, an international team of 67 MBA students and others in the business school community raised nearly $90,000 for cancer research as part of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope™ bike ride.

What’s good for society can also be good for your resume. “It’s always important to recruiters that you do something other than your studies,” says Wilson. That something may be community service, or you may, for example, sing in a choir, climb mountains, or spend a lot of time with your family. The important thing is that you are committed to something.