People and Places: October 5, 2021

Transitions

Bobby Waldrup has become the interim dean of the Sellinger School of Business and Management at Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore. He will hold that post through June of next year. A professor of accounting and former department chair, Waldrup has served as associate dean of the Sellinger School since 2017. Prior to joining the school in 2013, he was a professor and associate provost at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. Waldrup replaces Kathleen Getz, who left Loyola to become president of Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Justin P. Klein has been named director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics in Newark, Delaware. The center recently marked its 20th anniversary. Among his goals will be be to provide a forum for discussing critical issues such as developing environmental, social, and governance practices in leading organizations.

Honors and Awards

Wendy Smith (left), the Emma Smith Morris Professor of Management at the University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics in Newark, and Marianne Lewis, dean and professor of management at the University of Cincinnati’s Carol H. Lindner College of Business in Ohio, have received the Academy of Management Review’s Decade Award. Their co-authored paper, “Toward a Theory of Paradox: A Dynamic Equilibrium Model of Organizing,” was published in 2011. The award honors the paper with the greatest impact on research in the last 10 years, as reflected in metrics such as citation counts.

New Programs

The University of Wisconsin–Whitewater is creating a BS in Cybersecurity that will be housed in the College of Letters and Sciences. The new interdisciplinary bachelor’s program will involve faculty from the College of Business and Economics as well as colleagues from the departments of computer science, mathematics, sociology, and information technology. The 120-credit undergraduate program will initially be offered in person, and online coursework will be added over time. The school recently launched an online MS in Cybersecurity and opened a Cybersecurity Center for Business, which provides cybersecurity education and training for businesses, local governments, and educational institutions throughout the region.

The Professional and Corporate Education (PaCE) program at Stetson University in Deland, Florida, is launching two new courses this fall and one next spring. The three courses are planned as the first in a signature series of leadership classes. They include 21st Century Leadership, a six-week course held live over Zoom; the Introduction to Design Thinking Workshop, a half-day in-person course; and Grow Forward: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, a four-week certification course that will be held in a hybrid in-person and online format. The latter two courses are the product of a summer grant initiative announced last spring by PaCE and the Stetson University School of Business Administration. The initiative offered Stetson faculty the chance to construct course concepts for business professionals.

Imperial College Business School in London will upgrade its full-time MBA program for the 2022 cohort to put greater emphasis on flexibility and personalization. The school has reduced the number of core modules and introduced a new Flexcore Module that gives students the opportunity to dive deeply into specialized areas such as macroeconomics, advanced business analytics, and design thinking. Participants can choose to study either the general management pathway, or opt for a specialization in analytics, entrepreneurship, or finance. The Business School also has implemented a new LEADS (Leadership, Ethics, Awareness, Diversity, Society) module, which focuses on developing responsible, ethical, inclusive leaders. In addition, candidates must complete the Personalised Learning Journey—a detailed career development curriculum designed to transform participants into leaders who will benefit society.

Collaborations

Creme of Nature has teamed up with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Division to launch its first Legacy of Leadership Case Study Pitch Competition. The competition will provide students of historically black colleges and universities with a chance to gain hands-on experience, training, and mentorship opportunities. Winning students take home prizes and their share of 30,000 USD in scholarship funding. Students have until October 21 to complete applications.

Centers and Facilities

Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven has broken ground on a new home for the School of Business. The four-story, 60,000-square foot building will more than double the size of the current facilities. It will include specialized classrooms, lecture halls, a behavioral lab, an administrative suite for the MBA program, and an area designated for financial market and data analytics. It also will house the school’s new Business Success Center, where students can receive help with their job searches and meet with potential employers. Designed to be net zero, the building will be powered by solar panels and geothermal wells to eliminate its carbon footprint. It is scheduled for completion by early 2023.

The University of Mannheim in Germany has established the Mannheim Institute for Financial Education (MIFE). It was founded by Carmela Aprea, the chair of economic and business education at the University of Mannheim Business School; and Tabea Bucher-Koenen, the head of the research department in international finance and financial management at the Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim. The center conducts research on financial education for all populations, focusing on the conditions that support financial literacy through education and communication. The center will hold its inaugural conference November 29 through December 2.

Other News

In July, emlyon business school in France officially became a benefit corporation. Its current mission now calls for the school to educate people to create fairer societies, show solidarity for others, and respect the planet. As part of this mission, the 2021–22 academic year will revolve around the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In particular, the school will focus on SDG 10, which aims to reduce inequality within and among countries. Incoming students will view the documentary film “Bigger Than Us,” which features young people all over the planet fighting for human rights, social justice, and the environment. The school will also focus on SDG 13, which is dedicated to combating climate change, in part by making a “climate action” course mandatory for students.

The University of California, Davis, Graduate School of Management will pilot a program that will allow online MBA students to defer their tuition payments interest-free. The plan will be offered in partnership with EdAid, a provider of deferred tuition options for higher education. Under the plan, eligible students enrolled in the MBA@UCDavis program will pay tuition for the first half of the program, with the option to defer tuition payments for the second half. Upon graduation or program withdrawal, those who opt for deferral will make tuition payments equal to 10 percent of their annual gross incomes. “Studies show a large segment of deserving students are unable to pursue higher education due to financial constraints,” says H. Rao Unnava, dean of the UC Davis Graduate School of Management. The tuition deferral program is intended to “attract such deserving students and contribute to an even more diverse student body.” This option will be available to students in the January 2022 and April 2022 cohorts.