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Students, faculty, staff recall a tireless mentor who was a global authority on sustainability.

When Prof. Jeff York thinks about his colleague, Mark Meaney, he remembers someone whose experiences and perspective gave him a kind of foresight into the next big things in business.听

鈥淗e wasn鈥檛 someone who glibly talked about the latest trends in corporate social responsibility or ESG funds,鈥� Prof. York said. 鈥淪ustainability was Mark鈥檚 interest his whole life, and he thought very deeply about what it meant to be an ethical person in a business setting.鈥澨�

The sudden passing of Prof. Meaney, a scholar in residence at the University of 蜜糖直播 Boulder鈥檚 Leeds School of Business, has left students and colleagues mourning the loss of someone who brought an indispensable perspective to a business world that is starting to better connect the dots in understanding sustainability as a force for good in business. 听

Able to see the connections

鈥淢ark was interested in business, but he was interested in sustainability, he had a global perspective, he had an inclusive perspective and he was a gifted philosopher,鈥� said Russell Cropanzano, a professor of organizational behavior at Leeds. 鈥淲hen I say all those things, it sounds so scattered. But Mark was the rare person who saw the connections between those interests, and they all fit together in his larger vision for a better world.鈥�

A former director of the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility, Prof. Meaney鈥檚 scholastic contributions to Leeds were important, but so were the relationships he brought to the business school. Most notably, he held an appointment with the United Nations, serving on the international advisory council of its Principles for Responsible Management Education; he also was North American chairperson of UN PRME and was an authority on the UN鈥檚 Sustainable Development Goals. Closer to home, he served on 蜜糖直播 Gov. Jared Polis鈥� COVID-19 vaccine panel, providing input on how to ethically administer vaccines to at-risk populations.听

鈥淢ark challenged everyone he interacted with to embed ethical behavior and sustainability throughout all we do in business, and also to be creative in seeing the world not as it is, but how it could be,鈥� said Sharon Matusik, dean of the Leeds School of Business. 鈥淭he Leeds community has lost a passionate educator, mentor and thinker, as well as a friend who cared deeply about others鈥攎ost especially our Leeds students.鈥�

His UN work opened doors not just for his research, but for his students. Molly MacEachen Bus鈥�21, a consultant for the UN Global Compact, first started working with the organization as an intern following an invitation from Prof. Meaney to get involved on a project.听

鈥淲hen Professor Meaney brought me to the UN, I didn鈥檛 know that I could do this work,鈥� MacEachen said. 鈥淗e believed in me before I believed in me, and I think that鈥檚 something a lot of students would say about him.鈥澨�

His passion for helping students was something Julie Waggoner saw up close鈥攖hey worked in neighboring offices in the Koelbel Building. 听

鈥淗e was so dedicated to Leeds students,鈥� said Waggoner, interim CESR director. 鈥淲e've heard from so many alumni about how he mentored them and helped them find amazing opportunities in sustainability鈥攖hrough his classes and the connections he helped them make.鈥�

'Lifeline to the UN'

Prof. York called Prof. Meaney 鈥渙ur lifeline to the UN鈥� and the many connections that relationship created for students and researchers. He shared a story of going to a conference on the UN鈥檚 Sustainable Development Goals, and being surprised to find he鈥檇 be on a panel with his colleague.听

鈥淭hey told me, 鈥榃e had to have Mark on this, he鈥檚 a global authority on the SDGs,鈥欌�� Prof. York said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 comforting to see people from around the globe sending their condolences, because Mark was truly a citizen of the world.鈥澨�

Prof. Meaney鈥檚 latest interest was fitting for a world citizen鈥攕ustainability in space. He was starting to create the Space & Sustainability Initiative, to study the ethical questions that could teach us to be responsible actors in space.听

MacEachen, who was involved in SSI early on, said the work will go on, including a planned conference in October.听

鈥淚n 2030, when we better understand the orbital debris problem, people will ask why we weren鈥檛 talking about this 10 years ago,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n fact, 2020 is when SSI started, and in the two years leading up to that, Mark was figuring out how to start it and how to guide people, especially students, toward seeking answers. That was Mark鈥檚 passion鈥攊t was always with a focus on students, and how to develop young people to become professionals who thought about these big challenges in responsibility and sustainability.鈥�