Educators

Deans Conference

Meet in-person for the first time since 2020 at this interactive, workshop-style conference in San Antonio, Texas, USA.
Date(s)
February 8​ – 10​, 2023
Location
San Antonio, Texas, USA
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Deans Conference
Societal Impact Seminar (San Antonio)
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Agenda:
The Evolution of Business Higher Education and the Rise of Industry Microcredentials Industry microcredentials are an integral part of the changing landscape of business education. Many employers are looking anew at industry microcredentials and overlook the need for traditional college degrees. This session will host representatives from Coursera's Career Academy to explore key questions that educators confront regarding industry microcredentials. This session seeks to address the following questions: 1. How focusing initiatives on employability can help secure an institution’s future. 2. How industry microcredentials can prepare your students to be successful in a competitive job market 3. How to leverage Career Academy to help efficiently prepare your students for future meaningful employment.
Please join us for a pre-conference Networking Session, session details coming soon!
Embracing digital technology could enable more equitable access to information, but if digital channels become the default mode for interaction, then will in-person gatherings become a luxury experience? If social health becomes a key metric of success, then will economic mobility improve? As we renew our values, how will our behaviors and expectations change? This discussion will offer an opportunity to share and learn from our lived experiences as we seek to build on our strengths and shape the future we want for our students.
Unlock the Future of Business Education: Exploring Digital Era Changes, Social Impact, and AI Join us for a special 3-part presentation. Topic 1: DTAG will present their findings to date on the MaCuDE project, a global effort to address the changes in business curricula due to the digital era. Topic 2: Imperial College will explore their approach to incorporating societal impact and climate change into their business curricula. Topics 3: A panel on the GPT-3 chat bot. GPT-3 chat bot has arrived, and it promises to disrupt our lives. The panel will present key features of GPT-3 chat bot and the ways it can augment our educational offerings.
Building your Bench--Cultivating Academic Leadership in Small Schools Whether your faculty are millennials seeking opportunities for growth or senior faculty who have “been there, done that,” finding pathways to develop future leaders and design succession is challenging in small schools. Join this interactive session with special guest speaker O. Finley Graves, Interim Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at Texas Woman’s University, where we will examine the myriad issues that make succession planning and leadership development challenging in smaller schools and seek to find ways forward that prepare our colleges for long-term success.
"The Impact of University Leadership on Business Schools DEI Efforts" To initiate lasting changes necessary for DEIB initiatives, the influence of senior leadership is needed to gain commitment, compliance, and participation from people at every level of the university. Creating a culture of belonging is critical to the success of DEIB initiatives. Considering the reality that the business school is often seen as the leader and trendsetter for other academic units across the university, the ability of business deans to impact culture is enhanced. Thus, this session will focus on the impact of university leadership on Business school DEI efforts and the importance of collaboration among leadership.
Current Trends in Responsible Management Education: Spotlight on PRME and the GRLI In this session, PRME will present a new skill set for Leadership Education in the light of the Impactful Five (i5) program, which seeks to pilot the use of progressive pedagogies by faculty for holistic skillset development with the goal to share the role of business schools in driving societal impact. Drawing on unique collaborative initiatives, such as the Deans Cohort and the course on Sustainable Transformation, the GRLI will share learning from their faculty development efforts and demonstrate how deep cross-institutional collaboration is leading to systemic impact."
Navigating Difficult Situations and Conversations This will be a highly interactive session with breakout groups discussing a variety of difficult circumstances deans face such as handling difficult faculty, former deans, or other senior leaders, working with unions, and addressing bullying behaviors in their college. The goal is to enable participants to share best practices for how to deal with these challenging situations so that deans can leave the session with tips they use to enhance their effectiveness.
"Post-pandemic innovations in teaching and learning, preparing graduates for the future of work." According to the Academy of Management, business schools have moved past a "crucible moment," post-pandemic with an "opportunity to reinvent the educational environment our students need to thrive in the future of work." Our roundtable discussion with business school leadership will address post-pandemic innovations in teaching and learning and preparing graduates for the future of work.
Join us for a welcome message from Conference Chair McRae Banks and Caryn Beck-Dudley, President and CEO of AACSB International. Get an overview of what to expect at the conference and key items to consider as you attend sessions.  
What are the skill gaps employers are seeing among today’s graduates? This panel session will feature different perspectives from business representatives. They will discuss what employers are seeking and how business schools can better prepare graduates.
Be the first to see the new AACSB white paper on how to align with the spirit and intent of the societal impact expectations embedded in the 2020 AACSB accreditation standards. And, participate in a hands-on interactive activity designed to ensure your school is ready to go on developing its societal impact strategy and plan. You will leave this session with a clear picture of how to choose a focus area for your societal impact and guidelines on measuring your school’s impact.
Relax and enjoy the company of your colleagues before the conference gets underway.
Sponsored by
Knauss School of Business
Industry Session

New AACSB Standards are shaking up management education. Schools must develop leaders to manage the impact of business on the world. What is the Dean’s role in initiating this change? Do students understand how business affects society? What does it mean to manage societal impact? How will you engage students in this process? You may ask, what are the differences between Triple Bottom Line, Conscious Capitalism, SDGs, ESG, and SRI? How does each affect the assessment and management of societal impact? While answering these questions, we will demonstrate how Marketplace’s Conscious Capitalism Simulation can help you meet AACSB’s standards.
Hear from B Team leaders who will discuss how redefining the role of business and leadership results in positive societal change. Learn how you can apply their experiences across your organization, and what you, as a business school leader, can do to transform your school and redefine the value proposition of business education.
Sponsored by
MTSU
Join us for a facilitated discussion exploring surfacing models of business education, which dimensions should matter most, and the implications of these new models.
Sponsored by
As business schools move toward online learning, our industry is becoming one in which fixed costs (studios, videographers, etc.) are high and marginal costs of adding another student are low. Schools who successfully reach scale will thrive and those that do not reach scale may be in worse financial shape. But is there an alternative world in which schools collaborate more to provide content? A world in which a small number of universities produce the majority of high-quality online content, which other schools then use in their own programs? Is this even possible? And what will it take to get there?
Sponsored by
In a world of quiet quitting and remote work, “workplace culture” becomes a top HR concern. Universities are no different. With fewer faculty and staff on campus, keeping the culture alive becomes difficult, and acculturating newcomers can fail. Cultural divisions exacerbate the problem. Students arrive on campus polarized by a divided society. The academic hierarchy adds additional cultural strain. Faculty versus staff. Nontenure versus tenure track. Full versus part-time faculty. Teaching versus research incentives. Join this discussion about what factors matter in developing a positive culture where all are united through values and mission, and stakeholders feel belonging and fulfillment.
Sponsored by
Join this fast-paced mind mapping session on the shifting role of business schools. From newspaper articles to news stories, dominating topics are around purpose and finding solutions to global crisis such as climate or poverty. Business schools feel pressure to develop leaders with skills that address societal problems. But is this causing business schools to lose their focus? Should they stick to creating strong accountants, financial analysts, and executives?
Sponsored by
St. Mary's Greehey School of Business Logo
You can argue that as the calls to rapidly transform education become louder, there have never been as many opportunities and ways to engage and be responsive to the needs of students who want relevant and timely skills, as now. At the same time, one hears employers complaining that they simply cannot find employees with the right skills and accuse business schools of using decades-old curricula. Join us to explore strategies and practical steps to map the changes needed to create curricula to quickly adapt to ever-changing business and employer needs.
Sponsored by
Riipen Logo
Join this session to hear from former business school deans who transitioned to president (or equivalent). Panelists will share tips for cultivating a relationship with your president, strategies for creating systemic changes, and advice for managing your career and acquiring experiences that are relevant to the pathway of president.
Karen Spens
President, Rector
BI Norwegian Business School
Sponsored by
Riipen Logo
Expectations for faculty research to make an impact beyond academic audiences are evolving. From the new AACSB standards, to discussions of ranking organizations and professional associations, more attention is being devoted to the importance of societal and practice impact. Join this discussion to explore how deans can reimagine the research culture at their institution to increase impact and relevancy.
Sponsored by
Riipen Logo
Join us in an informal setting to discuss the role of business schools in decreasing polarization and cultivating kind and respectful business leaders who can face, manage, and even encourage difficult conversations.
Sponsored by
St. Mary's Greehey School of Business Logo
Check the room number on your conference name badge for your pre-assigned room! Then grab a cup of coffee and enjoy this informal, facilitated group discussion on how deans can be supported to thrive.
Sponsored by
Career Key Logo
According to Bill Boulding of Duke University, the combination of IQ+EQ+DQ (decency quotient) equals triple-threat leadership. Join us for an insightful conversation on what makes up a decency quotient and why you want a high score.
Sponsored by
Suitable Logo
Crisis is inevitable—hear how others prepared for the unexpected and ensured business continuity after crisis hit. Join us for inspirational stories of turning crisis into opportunity and rebuilding organizational spirit.
Sponsored by
Suitable Logo
Online and hybrid are changing how we recruit, train, and engage faculty to deliver education with different competencies and experiences than what was traditionally required. Join this facilitated, engaging discussion on what holistic support for business school faculty should look like.
Sponsored by
Suitable Logo
Join your peers in this informal setting to exchange ideas, share experiences, and discuss the latest and up-and-coming technological capabilities in the classrooms and beyond. The following topics will be discussed: (1) What technologies can and should be used to teach online? (2) How will AI tools, like ChatGPT, challenge how we assess students? And (3) How could the metaverse be used to teach business more efficiently? Plan to share your experiences and insights during this session with your peers as we face critical technology disruptions.
Sponsored by
St. Mary's Greehey School of Business Logo
Industry Session

Amidst an increasingly competitive landscape, university administrators want to see their learners thrive. How can b-school Deans create innovative programs that support their learners and keep up with the pace of change when resourcing and time are finite? Hawaii Pacific University and UC Riverside will discuss how they are using creative partnerships with Coursera to expand the value of their business school degrees, from industry learning embedded into curriculum to a program preparing incoming students for their MBA coursework. Learn how diverse institutions are creating high quality programs that drive student success and promote the employability of today’s business students.
Business schools in the Western world are facing arguably the most challenging and unpredictable time in their history. In the Global South, challenges surrounding climate change and sustainability are not new. What can we learn from this history? Join us for insightful and inspiring 7-minute TED talk-style presentations.
Vinita Singh Sahay
Director
Indian Institute of Management Bodh Gaya
Sponsored by
Marketplace Simulations
Enjoy and debrief from the day in the company of your colleagues.
Sponsored by
fiu-logo
This session will be designed for those planning for a Continuous Improvement Review visit. Experienced Peer Review Team members will discuss visit preparation and planning, visit execution, and what to do when the unexpected happens.
If you have an upcoming Initial Accreditation visit, this session is for you! We invite you to bring questions related to the initial accreditation process as we discuss what is expected and how to thoroughly prepare.
The value proposition of the college degree is no longer keeping pace with rapidly evolving skill needs of today's work force, which can change on a quarter-by-quarter basis. How can the university system adopt responsive restructuring to better meet these dynamic demands? Temple University President Jason Wingard will discuss what higher education must do to pivot and better prepare learners for a new world.
Sponsored by
Kean University College of Business and Public Management
This conversational forum will expand upon discussions from the previous day coffee chats.
Sponsored by
St. Mary's Greehey School of Business Logo
Empty allyship is destructive in many ways. How can business schools develop leaders who are allies and activists? This session will discuss authentic versus performative allyship and explore what commitment to authentic allyship should look like for business schools amidst different DEIB contexts.
Otgo Erhemjamts
Dean of the School of Management
University of San Francisco
Tech savvy, resourceful, socially responsible—in three years, Gen Z will comprise one third of the workforce. What should we know about this young generation to best prepare them as future business leaders?
With daily news headlines about war, human rights issues, political polarization, misinformation, pandemics, climate crisis, inflation and more, what is the latest urgent issue on your mind? Join your peers in this informal, moderated fireside chat to engage in discussion on the dean’s role in responding to unfolding and contentious issues affecting business school students, employees and other stakeholders.