Tyson Family Foundation Endows 'Faith and Spirituality in the Workplace Chair’ in Walton College

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A new area of business studies will assist students at the University of Arkansas in learning how to accommodate various religious belief systems in an increasingly diverse and global workforce.

With a $2 million gift from the Tyson Family Foundation the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas has established the John H. Tyson Endowed Chair in Faith and Spirituality in the Workplace. This is a part of the more than $27 million pledged to the U. of A. by that foundation and the Tyson Foods, Inc. Foundation in 2005 as a part of Campaign for the Twenty-First Century.

John Tyson is the chairman of the board of Tyson Foods Inc., Springdale, Ark. The $2 million will be matched from funds previously given to the University of Arkansas by the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation to create a $4 million endowed chair.

“We are deeply grateful to the Tyson family for making this chair possible,” said Walton College Dean Dan Worrell.   “New chairs such as this are what will help attract the best and brightest students to Walton College, and help grow our national reputation. Walton College has the potential to become a leader in this burgeoning field, by greatly enhancing the field of knowledge on faith and spirituality in the workplace. This is a cutting edge endeavor for business schools and we are very excited to be in this position which would not have been possible without the forward thinking and generosity of the Tyson family.”
 “We know from the success of the Tyson Foods chaplains’ program that there is a great need for this kind of support and knowledge in the workplace,” said Tyson. “To ignore the role that faith plays in our daily lives, including at work, is to miss out an essential part of human identity and motivation.  We are a faith-friendly company, striving to honor God and be respectful of each other, our customers and other stake holders. We are pleased to be able to help create this position that will lead the study of faith and spirituality in the workplace.”

G. David Gearhart, vice chancellor for university advancement, said, “Faith and spirituality are increasingly important subjects in business. We are thankful to Mr. Tyson for this gift that will allow the University of Arkansas to undertake a trailblazing endeavor for a public business school. We hope to recruit a highly qualified individual who will make a contribution to the state and the nation through teaching, research and public service in the area of faith in the workplace.”

A national search will begin immediately to fill the Tyson Chair.

The chair holder will explore the impact of faith, religion and spirituality in the workplace, decision-making and leadership through a moral prism; assist students to learn how to better accommodate various religious belief systems in an increasingly diverse workforce in a global economy; and examine the intersection of faith and behavior in the workplace.

 “More and more business scholars are becoming active in the management and faith domain,” said Anne O’Leary-Kelly, professor, chair of the department of management and the William R. and Cacilia Howard Chair in Management. “For example, the management, spirituality and religion special interest group in the Academy of Management now includes 680 members. There is a rise in empirical research studies, academic journals and scholarly articles focused on defining, measuring, describing, conceptualizing and analyzing the impact and expression of faith at work.”

The chair holder will teach courses that address a broad array of work-related topics from the perspective of spirituality and faith, such as spiritual connection and how it affects employees, empowerment, trust, justice, the sense of community, the connection between faith and leadership, understanding work as a spiritual calling and motivation. Courses will also cover topics like creativity, corporate culture, diversity, wellness, job stress, conflict, and ethics, as well as the history of theology related to work, and how faith can be a constructive resource to address all aspects of business life and leadership. 

Objectives of such elective course offerings to students will be to raise awareness of, to increase sensitivity to, and to cultivate each individual’s ability to draw on faith resources to positively shape personal and corporate conduct, to expand knowledge of the faith-in-the-workplace field through research, and to encourage widespread discussion about the role of faith and spirituality in issues faced in work organizations and the intrinsic value of work from a faith-based and spiritual point-of-view consistent with good business practices and legal requirements in the workplace. 

The chair holder will encourage intellectual diversity of thought to encourage stimulating academic debates designed to expose students to a broad array of faith in the workplace issues and enhance their practical ability to be productive, respectful and successful professionals in the workplace.

Tyson began his academic career at the University of Arkansas and later graduated from Southern Methodist University in 1975. The Tyson family has supported many projects and programs at the university including the Janelle Y. Hembree Alumni House building project, the John W. Tyson Building and Center of Excellence for Poultry Science, the University of Arkansas Press, the Randal Tyson Track Center, the Randal Tyson Memorial Scholarship and the Donald "Buddy" Wray Chair in Food Safety in Bumpers College. John Tyson was recently named to the University of Arkansas’s Board of Trustees. He was a member of the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century Steering Committee and served additionally as the chair of the Corporations and Foundation Relations Committee and as vice chairman of the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century.