Jeffrey L. Seglin
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Jeffrey L. Seglin (born December 26, 1956) is an American columnist, author, and teacher. Since 2011, he has been a faculty member and director of the communications program at the
John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...
at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
. His weekly column on ethics, "The Right Thing," is syndicated in newspapers in the United States and Canada. Seglin lives in Boston with his wife, a psychotherapist. He has two adult children and four grandchildren.


Early life and education

Seglin was born in Plattsburgh, New York, and grew up in many cities in the northeastern U.S. as well as Santiago, Chile. He attended Boonton High School in
Boonton, New Jersey Boonton is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 8,815, an increase of 468 (+5.6%) from the 2010 census count of 8,347, which in turn reflected a decline of 149 (− ...
. He holds a
master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
in theological studies from
Harvard Divinity School Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, gov ...
and a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
from Bethany College.


Career

Seglin is the author or co-author on more than a dozen books on business, ethics, and writing. He has written for publications including ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', ''
Real Simple ''Real Simple'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. The magazine features articles and information related to homemaking, childcare, cooking, and emotional well-being. The magazine is distinguished by its clean, unclut ...
'', '' Fortune'', ''
Fortune Small Business ''Fortune Small Business'' (''FSB'') was an American magazine published 10 times per year from 1991 to 2009. It was a joint venture by The Fortune Group at Time Inc. and the American Express Small Business Services. It was delivered to 1 million ...
'',
Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/ liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...
, ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'', ''Sojourners'',
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
's ''Sloan Management Review'', ''Harvard Management Update'', '' Business 2.0'', '' ForbesASAP'', '' CIO'', ''CFO'', and ''MBA Jungle''. He has contributed commentaries to American Public Media's ''
Marketplace A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...
'' radio program and was the host of ''Doing Well by Doing Good'', an hour-long live television program airing out of
WCVE-TV WCVE-TV, virtual channel 23 (UHF digital channel 22), is a Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) member television station licensed to Richmond, Virginia, United States. The station is owned by the VPM Media Corporation (formerly known as the Co ...
, PBS's Richmond, Virginia affiliate. Prior to 1998, he was an executive editor at '' Inc. magazine''. He was also the editor of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' Global Business Perspectives news service from 2007 until 2014. Seglin's "The Right Thing" column launched as a monthly column in the Sunday Money & Business section of The New York Times in September 1998 and ran the third Sunday of each month until 2004, when it became a weekly syndicated column. In his syndicated column, "The Right Thing," he offers solutions to
ethical Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...
dilemmas posed by readers. The column was syndicated by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' Syndicate from February 2004 through August 2010. In September 2010,
Tribune Content Agency Tribune Content Agency (TCA) is a syndication company owned by Tribune Publishing. TCA had previously been known as the Chicago Tribune Syndicate, the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (CTNYNS), Tribune Company Syndicate, and Tribune Media S ...
began distributing "The Right Thing" column. In 2003, Seglin published ''The Right Thing: Conscience, Profit and Personal Responsibility in Today’s Business,'' a collection of the first four years of his syndicated column. It was named as one of the "Best Business Books of 2003" by the '' Library Journal''. He is also the author of ''The Good, the Bad, and Your Business: Choosing Right When Ethical Dilemmas Pull You Apart'' (Wiley, 2000). In 2016, Seglin's ''The Simple Art of Business Etiquette: How to Rise to the Top by Playing Nice'' (Tycho, 2016) was released. The book reached a ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' bestseller list.


Academia

Seglin worked at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts from 1999 until 2011, where he was a tenured associate professor and also director of the graduate program in publishing and writing. He has been an ethics fellow at the
Poynter Institute The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is a non-profit journalism school and research organization in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. The school is the owner of the ''Tampa Bay Times'' newspaper and the International Fact-Checking Netw ...
for Media Studies since 2001 and was a resident fellow at the Center for the Study of Values in Public Life at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
in 1998-1999. Seglin is a senior lecturer in public policy and director of the communications program at the
John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...
at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
. He lectures widely on ethics, business ethics, and writing, including sessions at the Executive
MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
Program at
University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
, Duke Corporate Education,
Harvard Business School Publishing Harvard Business Publishing was founded in 1994 as a not-for-profit, wholly owned subsidiary of Harvard University (distinct from Harvard University Press), with a focus on improving business management practices. The company consists of three ...
Virtual Seminars,
Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virginia ...
, and other organizations. He also served as a consultant on the business ethics module of Harvard ManageMentor.


Awards

Trust Across America named Seglin as one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior from 2010-2014, and honored him with the organization's Lifetime Achievement Award in January 2015. The student body of Harvard Kennedy School presented Seglin with the Manuel C. Carballo Award for Excellence in Teaching in May 2017. He was co-recipient of the Carballo Award in May 2014. Bethany College awarded Seglin a Doctor of Humane Letters on March 6, 2014.


Selected works

*''The Simple Art of Business Etiquette: How to Rise to the Top by Playing Nice.'' Tycho, 2016. * ''The Right Thing: Conscience, Profit and Personal Responsibility in Today’s Business.'' Spiro Press, 2003. Smith-Kerr, 2006. * ''The Good, the Bad, and Your Business: Choosing Right When Ethical Dilemmas Pull You Apart.'' New York: Wiley, 2000. Smith-Kerr, 2007.


References


External links


The Right Thing BlogHarvard Kennedy School faculty pageHarvard Kennedy School Communications ProgramSeglin video on business ethics for Harvard Business PublishingSeglin on Fox 25 Morning News
*
How to Write an Op-Ed video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seglin, Jeffrey L. 1956 births Living people Bethany College (West Virginia) alumni Harvard Divinity School alumni American magazine editors Boonton High School alumni Emerson College faculty People from Boonton, New Jersey Writers from New Jersey Harvard Kennedy School faculty Harvard Kennedy School staff Harvard University alumni People from Plattsburgh, New York People from Dorchester, Massachusetts