What's New
NYU Stern's Professor Michael Posner: Bringing Human Rights to a Business School
July 26, 2013
Excerpt from Bloomberg -- “Most B-school students know they’re signing up for classes in subjects like accounting and finance, but they probably don’t expect to see human rights on the syllabus. Professor Michael Posner wants to change that. Posner came to NYU’s Stern School of Business after four years at the Department of State to head the first-ever human-rights center at a business school.”Read more
Stern's Sarah Labowitz on why the recent $250 million commitment to Bangladesh’s factories misses the point
July 19, 2013
Excerpt from The Atlantic Quartz -- “Last week, almost 100 US and European companies made groundbreaking announcements about their efforts to improve working conditions in Bangladesh over the next five years. This was big news in the US, but hardly registered in Dhaka, where I was doing a fact-finding trip examining workplace safety in the garment sector. This disconnect is troubling and must be overcome if the efforts to improve factory safety and working conditions are to be successful.”Read more
In a Feature Article, the Financial Times Documents How Stern's Center for Business and Human Rights Aims to Show There Is Good In Business
July 15, 2013
Excerpt from The Financial Times -- “You need Walmart, H&M, the unions, the British government, the US government, all at the table ... I think we can be a catalyst for the discussion.” Companies are looking for measurable standards and clear metrics, he says, and the Stern centre can enable this. “We have neither the capacity nor the standing to create the metrics, but we can be a catalyst. There will always be rogue companies ... but] you have to have a critical mass with a shared sense of what the standards should be.”Read more
In an Op-Ed, Sarah Labowitz Explains Why Tech Companies Must Push Back Against NSA Surveillance Programs
July 03, 2013
Excerpt from The San Francisco Chronicle -- "In the national debate about large-scale U.S. government surveillance programs, technology companies are caught in the cross fire. The government has compelled companies to surrender customer information as part of classified programs about which precious little is known. Recent advocacy by several major tech companies for government disclosure is in the public interest, and Americans should support their push for greater transparency." Read more
Prof. Posner Explains the Significance of Labor Rights Regulations in Myanmar
June 30, 2013
Excerpt from The New York Times -- “'This is part of a greater trend — not only in the business world, but in our world generally — toward transparency,' said Mr. Posner, who helped draft the requirements while at the State Department. 'I think it’s a very healthy trend.”
Read more
Prof. Michael Posner Reacts to the US's Measures to Halt Trade with Bangladesh
June 27, 2013Excerpt from The New York Times -- “'The U.S. decision sends a very strong signal to the government of Bangladesh that they have to do things differently, that there’s a consequence to the way they’ve been operating,' said Michael H. Posner, a former assistant secretary of state of human and labor rights in the Obama administration."Read more
2013 Global Alumni Conference in Shanghai
June 20, 2013
In celebration of the launch of NYU Shanghai, the University’s third portal campus, NYU Stern held its biennial Global Alumni Conference in our newest home of Shanghai June 20-22, 2013. Alumni from Stern’s global network of 100,000 reconnected as a community, exchanged ideas, and engaged in conversations with Stern faculty, and key business and civic leaders from Asia.Read more and view highlights
Prof. Michael Posner on the United Nations' Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
June 11, 2013
Excerpt from The Wall Street Journal -- “'We’re now at the end of the beginning of the process,' said Mike Posner, professor in the business and society program at NYU’s Stern School of Business and former assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, referring to the Guiding Principles broadly. 'Now the question is: what does this mean in very practical terms for specific companies, and how do you establish rules of the road in specific industries or countries?”Read more
Prof. Michael Posner on Why Some Companies Have Not Signed Bangladesh Safety Agreements
May 16, 2013Excerpt from Financial Times -- "Michael Posner, a professor at New York University’s Stern business school, said the reluctance of some companies stemmed from 'a judgment that they don’t bear ultimate responsibility because they don’t own or operate factories."Read more
Prof. Michael Posner on the Bangladesh Safety Agreement Signed by European Retailers
May 14, 2013
Excerpt from Reuters -- "Mike Posner, a professor of business and human rights at New York University's Stern School of Business, in an email said agreement to a legally binding accord by major European retailers has put U.S. retailers under pressure. 'The onus is now on American brands to step up to the plate,' he said."Read more
Prof. Michael Posner on Why Companies Should Work on Labor Reform Rather Than Pull Out of Bangladesh
May 09, 2013 
Excerpt from CNN -- "If American and Western consumers want to help people get out of poverty, it is important for them to have a presence in countries like Bangladesh, according to Posner. 'The reality is there are four-million people, mostly young women, working in these factories in Bangladesh. They're often the only breadwinners in their families.”
Watch the video
Additional coverage appeared on Channel News Asia
Prof. Michael Posner on Worker Safety in Bangladesh
May 04, 2013 Excerpt from The New York Times -- "Mr. Posner said Disney’s move — apparel represents less than a fifth of the nearly $40 billion in annual sales of its licensed products — might encourage other Western brands to leave Bangladesh. 'Now other companies feel they have a green light.”
In an Op-Ed, Prof. Michael Posner Explains How Global Brands Can Help Improve Working Conditions
May 02, 2013Excerpt from The New York Times -- "Ask the workers in those factories, mostly young women, what they want. They will tell you two things. First, they want to keep their jobs, desperately. Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world, and the rapid expansion of the garment sector in recent years has put food on the table for many, lifting families out of extreme poverty. Second, they want to be treated with dignity, which begins with going to work in a safe and secure environment."Read more
Michael Posner Joins NYU Stern to Establish New Center for Business and Human Rights
February 28, 2013New York University Stern School of Business today announced that Michael H. Posner will join its faculty in March 2013. Posner will be a professor in the School’s Business and Society Program Area and will lead an effort to establish a center for business and human rights at NYU Stern.Read more
Sarah Labowitz (Grinnell College '04) joins NYU Stern as a research scholar in the Business and Society Program
February 28, 2013
Posner is joined by Sarah Labowitz, who worked closely with Posner as a policy advisor in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and the Secretary's Office of the Cyber Coordinator at the State Department. Labowitz joins NYU Stern as a research scholar in the Business and Society Program Area and will help build and direct the center on business and human rights.Read more