UConn Today – After studying and working in Germany for a year, Michelle Buerkler ’24 (BUS) found herself in high demand in the job market. Potential employers were impressed by her willingness to take a risk, become fluent in German, and immerse herself in a new culture far from home.
Gerlinde Berger-Walliser
New Master’s Degree in Social Responsibility & Impact in Business Seeks Students Interested in Making a Difference in the World
UConn Today – The School of Business’ Marketing Department has created a 30-credit Master of Science in Social Responsibility & Impact in Business, addressing an escalating demand for professionals in the field and significant student interest in pursuing careers that impact economic, environmental, and social sustainability.
The new degree program was approved by the University’s Board of Trustees on Wednesday, April 17, and launches this fall. The degree will prepare graduates to drive innovative and impactful business decisions for positive social change.
Sustainability Summit: Doing the Right Thing for the Environment is Much More Complex Than It Seems
UConn Today – When a team of technicians travels by boat from New London, Conn. to South Fork Wind, the Orsted-company’s expansive offshore wind farm, their vessel travels at a very slow speed to prevent disruption to whales and other marine life.
And while that is the best thing to do for the environment, the slow-moving boat gets rocked hard by the waves, making many members of the crew seasick before they get to the job site.
In addition, because of the speed limits, it takes up to 3.5 hours to get to the destination, a longer time than the technicians spend doing their work. It is just one of many stories shared at the annual Global Business Leadership in Sustainability Summit in Storrs on Friday, illustrating the challenges of implementing new technology and the complexity of creating a greener Earth.
New EUROBIZ Dual-Degree Features German Immersion

The School of Business and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences are launching a new dual-degree, German immersion program, designed to give students an advantage in applying for jobs with international companies. Continue Reading
Using Proactive Legal Strategies for Corporate Environmental Sustainability
Berger-Walliser, G., Shrivastava, P., Sulkowski, A. Using Proactive Legal Strategies for Corporate Environmental Sustainability. 6 Michigan Journal of Environmental and Administrative Law, 1-36 (2016). Date Published: June 2017
We argue that proactive law can help organizations be more sustainable. Toward that end, this Article first summarizes proactive law literature as it pertains to corporate sustainability. Next, it examines a series of cases on the pivotal nexus between proactive law and corporate sustainability. It then advances novel propositions that connect proactive law to central organizational design elements. The discussion traces further implications and suggests fruitful avenues for research and ways of using proactive law for firms to become more sustainable. Full article.
From Visualization to Legal Design: A Collaborative and Creative Process
American Business Law Journal, Vol. 54, No. 2, Summer 2017, p. 347-392
Although the law remains predominately focused on the written word, a growing body of scholarship and legal practice reflect a dramatic increase in the use of visualization in virtually every legal context. Three starting assumptions underpin our ideas of implementing visualization ideas and techniques into what we call “Legal Design” that may aid contract simplification:
First, we examine the use of images in business documents and in statutes, rather than for advocacy. Moving away from adversarial settings offers several advantages. It permits us to illustrate the use of images in a broader range of practical legal applications. It also enables us to adopt the thinking, values, and methods of a non-traditional approach to lawyering and the law: “Preventive Law” or “Proactive Law” (combined here as “PPL”). Second, we offer guidelines for using images in conjunction with words rather than in isolation, since the law only rarely abandons its verbal expression. Realistically, visualization is almost always used in hybrid ways — combinations of words and images to enhance the effectiveness of communication. That seems unlikely to change, given the need for detail and refinement when the law is imposing duties on people. Finally, our method analyzes variables surrounding choices and consequences about the process of generating, transmitting, and using images to accompany legal language. Examining this dynamic can deepen our understanding of the information conveyed; it can also reveal the potential of visualization for creating spillover value for businesses or regulatory agencies that employ the images to advance legal and organizational effectiveness. Full article.
Contracting for Innovation and Innovating Contracts
Journal of Strategic Contracting and Negotiation (2016)
Thomas D. Barton, Gerlinde Berger-Walliser, Helena Haapio
Creating a Better World

Mission-Focused Businesses Subject of Recent Conference
Business partners Spencer Curry and Kieran Foran go to work at their FRESH Farm Aquaponics business in South Glastonbury every day, believing they’re one step closer to solving world hunger.
When Justin Nash was a Captain in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan, his soldiers looked to him for guidance. Now a civilian, he’s using those leadership traits at Til Duty is Done, an organization he created which seeks to provide housing, employment training and career opportunities for returning veterans. Til Duty is Done, Nash said, gives him a renewed sense of purpose.Continue Reading
Social Enterprise Conference
School of Business’ Social Enterprise Conference Attracting Leading Scholars, Entrepreneurs and Business Owners
“We don’t hire people to bake brownies, we bake brownies to hire people,” boasts the website of Greyston Bakery of Yonkers, N.Y.
Recognized as one of the best social enterprise companies in the world, Greyston Bakery’s mission is to provide individuals with employment, skills and resources to lift them out of poverty.Continue Reading
Assistant Professor Gerlinde Berger-Walliser and MBA Student Group visit EM Lyon for International Business Study
In January 2015, a contingent of part-time MBA and MSBAPM students led by Business Law Professor Gerlinde Berger-Walliser spent two weeks studying international business at EMLYON, one of the top business schools in France. The group attended lectures taught by renowned EM Lyon faculty about the European business, social, and regulatory environment. As part of the inter-cultural program the UConn students worked on projects with EM Lyon’s International MBA students and traveled to Geneva, Switzerland to visit the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. In the evenings and on the free weekend, the group sampled the great food that Lyon is known for and toured different parts of Europe. Professor Berger-Walliser is looking forward to taking another group of MBA students to Lyon in January 2016.