What is the economy of communion in freedom project (“EoC”) and how is it a resource for business education?  These questions were addressed by Linda Specht’s paper presentation at Notre Dame University on June 11, as part of the “Business Education at Catholic Universities” conference.

The EoC business principles echo the “golden rule” which is found in many of the world religions.  Thus, the EoC model is appropriate in many different settings, including non-Catholic universities such as Trinity University.  Specht’s presentation described the beginnings of the EoC, the nexus of EoC business principles with Catholic social teaching, and the EoC course that she taught at Trinity University.  One important aspect of the course, as described at the conference, was the opportunity to model the EoC principles in a classroom setting and in collaboration with St. Mary’s University, where Jonathan Michelon also taught a course on the EoC.  John Mundell, director of the EoC internship program, was also available at the conference to answer questions.  A number of attendees at the presentation expressed an interest in integrating the EoC into their curriculum, including schools in the U.S. and the U.K. 

A five page summary of the paper was provided to the representatives of universities from 22 different countries who attended the conference.  The full text of the paper (“The Economy of Communion in Freedom Project:  A Resource for Catholic Business Education”), along with an appendix (EoC principles, course syllabus, and other materials) will be available at the conference web site by August 1, 2008.

Conference participants were also provided links to:

• the international EoC web site
• the North American EoC web site 
• the Trinity course web site
• a " target="_blank">Youtube video produced by the students