Jim Otteson reflects on an “unplanned journey” in University Chair Lecture

Jim Otteson began his University Chair Lecture by defending its title.

Martijn Cremers, the dean of the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, had good-naturedly chided that Otteson’s chosen title of “An Unplanned Journey” was too vague. How would people know what he planned to talk about? 

For Otteson, though, the lecture was a unique opportunity to talk about his own life rather than purely academic work. His career had truly been shaped by unexpected turns, so “An Unplanned Journey” was precisely the central theme he wanted to convey. 

Otteson delivered the deeply personal and thought-provoking talk on March 27 before a packed audience of students, faculty and staff in Mendoza’s Jordan Auditorium as part of Mendoza’s University Chair Lecture. The lecture series celebrates distinguished faculty whose scholarship advances understanding of how business can serve the common good. 

Otteson, the John T. Ryan Jr. Professor of Business Ethics and Business Honors Program faculty director, is widely recognized for his work in moral philosophy, political economy and business ethics. In his remarks, he reflected on the unexpected path that led him from a first-generation college student to a leading scholar exploring the moral foundations of business. 

Throughout the lecture, Otteson wove together milestones from his academic career with reflections on teaching and mentorship. He has published widely, taught dozens of courses and helped shape the Business Honors Program at Mendoza; however, he emphasized that his greatest impact comes through helping students think about purpose, virtue and vocation. 

Tracing his “unplanned journey,” Otteson shared lessons from his life and career, blending humor, philosophy and personal experience into a set of enduring takeaways:

Big aspirations can start early — even unexpectedly.

“I made a resolution… I was going to be the first person in my family to go to college… and I was going to graduate from Notre Dame.” 

Otteson traced his journey back to a childhood visit to Notre Dame — his first time ever on a college campus. He showed an old photo of himself when he was about 8 years old, standing in front of the Hesburgh Library with his father and half-brother, both of whom he had just met for the first time. Despite being an awkward and confusing event, the moment sparked a vision that would shape his life. His story underscores how early experiences, even brief ones, can create powerful long-term direction.

Be open to opportunities, even when they aren’t part of the plan.

“This is an open frontier and maybe I can be a pioneer.”

Today, Otteson is known as the “Adam Smith professor,” due to his extensive research into the works of the Scottish philosopher considered the "father of modern economics." But a central theme of his talk was that his career unfolded not through a rigid plan, but through a series of unexpected opportunities, from discovering the philosophies of Smith by chance to accepting positions across institutions and disciplines. 

Otteson described how noticing a gap in the scholarship led him to develop a new interpretation of Smith — one that helped resolve a longstanding academic debate. This occurrence in his life illustrates how curiosity, combined with persistence, can open new paths for discovery. 

His advice to students: Stay open, take risks and be willing to say yes. 

Business can be a moral and meaningful vocation.

“Is there such a thing as honorable business?” 

A defining question in Otteson’s work is whether business can be a force for good. As a professor at Wake Forest, he created a course called “Why Business?” that took a new approach to teaching business ethics by considering virtue ethics. Rather than focusing only on the ways business could go wrong, including moral failures or ethical violations, he challenged students to imagine how business can “go right” as an activity that, when done well, contributes to human flourishing. 

For business students, this approach provides them with a model of business activity as something they aspire to do, prompting them to consider essential truths and values such as what a just and humane society is, what honorable business would be in such a society, and what honorable business looks like in a fallen world of “second bests.”

The ultimate “why” matters.

“Why should I care about being virtuous?” 

Otteson emphasized that answering this question is essential for both life and career. Students will often challenge whether leaders are truly virtuous if they are acting virtuously solely out of the belief that being virtuous leads to greater success in business. Otteson described this line of reasoning as “contingent rational strategies.” 

“I have something I want. I’m going to try to get it. And the way I behave to get what I want is going to change with the times, fashions, etcetera.” 

For Otteson, here is where Catholic social thought provides deeper answers. He integrates Catholic social thought into his teaching to help students explore ontological foundations for ethics, purpose and human dignity, thereby moving beyond strategy to meaning. As he closed his talk, Otteson returned to the theme of journey — not as something carefully engineered, but as something discovered along the way. 

“Be open to those opportunities. Be willing to take a risk.” Watch the video here.