At the 2025 International Society for Organization Development and Change (ISODC), David Cooperrider—Distinguished University Professor and and the Char and Chuck Fowler Professor of Business as an Agent of World Benefit—recently gave a keynote address in which he shared various ways individuals can make an impact within the field of organization development.
“This is the era when the business of building a better world is good business,” he said. “There is no reversing the fundamental finding that providing market-driven solutions to the world’s greatest social, ecological and human challenges is a winning strategy.”
At the evening award ceremony, Cooperrider was surprised and honored with the ISODC’s highest accolade—the 2005 Impact to Society Award—for his transformative contributions to organization development (OD) and societal change.
The award recognized his pioneering work in appreciative inquiry and global sustainability, which is reflected in his 27 books and more than 100 publications, including a special journal issue of Organization Development Review. Additionally, the committee highlighted his advisory roles to five prominent global leaders: former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, former Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, and president of Iceland Halla Tomasdottir.
“I was born under a lucky star to have landed in this field and at Case Western Reserve, a research university that calls all of us to ‘think beyond the possible’,” Cooperrider shared.