Dr.
Frederick K. Read has taught at Union since 1998, and now serves as a
faculty member and as an academic advisor to Union students within the Business
Administration and Business Management programs.
Dr.
Read’s courses are complemented by his years of experience in the U.S. Army, Working
in the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff, and by his experience at Easter Seals,
Southwestern Ohio as the vice president of Operations.
Union
celebrates and values their scholar/practitioner instructors, and Dr. Read is
one of our professors who successfully combined his academic training with his
military and business careers. He knows the corporate environment as well as
the academic world, and it is vital to him that his students apply the values
and knowledge they receive in the classroom to their own businesses and
careers. “Social responsibility is an
important issue for each of us,” Dr. Read said. “Each person should try to find
a place (niche) where he/she can make a difference in people’s lives; whether
it is small or large. We should think of this as service to the greater
community. Social responsibility, especially corporate social responsibility,
is an integral piece in several of my courses. This is an important concept for
students to know and learn.”
According to Dr. Read, environmental
awareness is one of the ways that the value of social responsibility can be
applied in the business world. “Many corporate giants are embarking on
environmentally-friendly processes that use fewer fossil fuels, less water, and
reduce waste. Students should be encouraged to emulate this concept in their
daily lives. We only have one planet. Every resource we have, except for maybe
oxygen, is finite. We have to save it!”
Dr. Read continues to invest in the mission
of Union through his student engagement, but he is also an involved member of
the Covington community, in Northern Kentucky. He serves on the Diocese of
Covington School Board, on the Alliance for Catholic Urban Education, and is a
member of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association and the Northern Kentucky
Officials Association.
A
crucial aspect of caring for a community and working for change, according to
Dr. Read, is understanding the history of a place. “When I was I kid, back in
the days before television, we used to sit at the dining room table and dad
would tell us history stories. I think it’s important to know the history of
why we did things. There’s an old story about if you don’t understand history
you’re doomed to repeat it. I don’t know that I agree with that, but I do think
we need to understand how we got where we are, and we shouldn’t forget that. I
think part of that is missing today. Too many people don’t know the civil rights
movement, they don’t understand that struggle and I think that needs to be
retaught on a continual basis. It is only when we understand this history and
how society changed in the 1960s that we can fully understand and appreciate
social responsibility. It is also important to remember that social
responsibility, especially in the area of civil rights, is everyone’s business.
That is a message I try to deliver.”
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