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Gregory Dees Essay

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J. Gregory Dees, a Duke University professor recognized internationally for developing social entrepreneurship as an academic field, died at Duke Hospital Friday. He was 63.

Dees was professor of the practice of social entrepreneurship, Rubenstein Senior Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship with Duke's Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. (I&E) and the founding faculty director of the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) at Duke's Fuqua School of Business. In 2007, the Aspen Institute and the international organization Ashoka presented him with their first lifetime achievement award in social entrepreneurship education.

The author of three books, dozens of articles and other scholarship, Dees helped show how …show more content…

"Greg was a tremendous colleague and a great friend, and I am devastated by his untimely passing; he is simply irreplaceable," said Eric Toone, vice provost and director of Duke's Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative. "What he built at Duke was impressive, and his impact on social entrepreneurship was enormous. His passion and humanity will live on in all we do."
In addition to his academic roles, Dees served on the board of the Bridgespan Group and other organizations; chaired the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council for Social Innovation; served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Social Entrepreneurship and the Social Enterprise Journal, and was an entrepreneur in residence with the Kauffman Foundation. He regularly assisted social entrepreneurs, foundations, academics and others around the world.
Prior to his academic career, he was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company. He earned his Ph.D. in philosophy from The Johns Hopkins University, a master's degree in public and private management from Yale and a bachelor of arts degree with high honors in philosophy from the University of

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