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Positive Visions and a Roadmap to the Future

There is no denying that our world today has problems – serious problems that stem from a complex tissue of history and tradition, survival challenges, misunderstandings, poor stewardship, pressing needs, faulty decision making, and our own inability to clearly visualize an effective, positive future.   An outcry for better leadership and social responsibility has brought capable, dedicated individuals to the forefront of global planning.   At UH-Downtown, Dr. Shabnam Lutafali and Assistant Professor Faiza Khoja are responding in areas where it counts – suggesting useful systems, better business practices, and methods for sustainability.

Last October, Khoja and Lutafali attended the United Nations Academy of Management Global Forum where they presented their paper, Eco Eco Partnership, to a host of leading business executives, management scholars and top students from around the world who are concerned about positive change.   The paper chronicles a potent idea of urban renewal involving human and natural resources as well as public-private partnership.

The paper, selected as one of the ten best papers submitted, was displayed in a Virtual Forum.   The Global Forum focused upon business as an agent of world benefit, with the purpose of identifying and leveraging new solutions that have the potential to change the nature of 21st-century society.

"The conference was a great opportunity for us to represent UHD and present the potent idea of partnership between Ecology and Economics that resonated with the attending scholars," says Dr. Lutafali.

Dr. David Cooperrider, forum creator and chair of Case Western Reserve University Department of Organizational Behavior, aspires to create the right connections between people and cultures to make a better world.   Attracting the excellent ideas of such thinkers as Lutafali and Khoja is certainly a fine step in that direction.

UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON-DOWNTOWN
UH-Downtown is a public university of nearly 12,000 students, offering a wide variety of bachelor’s degrees, as well as master’s programs in criminal justice, professional writing, security management and teaching. One of four distinct universities in the UH System, Houston’s Downtown University is nationally recognized for its student diversity, wireless campus, outstanding academic opportunities and productive community partnerships. At UHD, the emphasis is on excellence in teaching and student success.

Please use UH-Downtown, UHD or University of Houston-Downtown when referring to our university.