People and Places: January 25, 2022

Transitions

Soumitra Dutta has been named the new dean of Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford. He is currently professor of management at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and chair of the Global Business School Network. He previously spent 13 years in leadership roles at INSEAD in France. He also serves on the boards of international corporations, has founded several successful startups, co-chaired the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Innovation Ecosystems, and advised governments on technology and innovation policies. He takes up his new post on June 1, replacing interim dean Sue Dopson, who has been leading the school since Peter Tufano stepped down in June 2021.

California State University in San Bernardino has selected J. Tomás Gómez-Arias to lead the Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration. He will begin his new role in July, replacing interim dean and professor Shanthi Srinivas, who has been leading the college since August 2021. He also will hold an academic appointment as tenured full professor in the department of marketing. Gómez-Arias currently serves as dean of the College of Business Administration at California State University, Stanislaus, and previously served in leadership positions at Saint Mary’s College of California.

The University of New Orleans has selected Pamela Kennett-Hensel as the first woman to be dean of the College of Business Administration. Kennett-Hensel, who has served as interim dean since July 2020, has been a faculty member at the university for more than two decades. Prior to serving as interim dean, Kennett-Hensel spent six years as chair of the newly created department of management and marketing, where she oversaw the launch of the Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Management and the retooling of bachelor’s programs in management and in marketing. She was previously chair of the department of marketing and logistics. She has served as president of the Marketing Management Association and is a fellow of that organization.

In February, Kelly Wilkinson becomes the new dean of the Williamson College of Business Administration at Youngstown State University in Ohio. She currently is associate dean of the Scott College of Business at Indiana State University, where she has also served as director of the Center for Instruction, Research and Technology and as chair of the department of Management, Information Systems and Business Education. She held previous positions at the University of Missouri and Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Wilkinson replaces Betty Jo Licata, who is retiring after nearly 27 years as dean.

Lawrence B. Pulley has announced his plans to retire on June 30 from his role as dean of William & Mary’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business in Williamsburg, Virginia. Pulley, who also serves as the T.C. and Elizabeth Clarke professor at the university, joined the faculty of the business school in 1985. He has served as dean since 1998. Pulley oversaw the construction of Alan B. Miller Hall, which brought together undergraduate and graduate business programs under one roof for the first time. The LEED Gold-certified building opened in 2009. Pulley presided over the growth of the school’s academic offerings, which, in the past decade, included five new online degree programs and a master’s degree in business analytics. Under Pulley’s leadership, the school opened the Center for Online Learning and created a new Center for Military Transition as part of its expanded outreach to veterans

At the end of the academic year, Paul Tesluk will step down as dean of the University at Buffalo School of Management in New York. Tesluk was appointed dean in 2016 after serving in an interim capacity. During his tenure, the school added a new undergraduate program in information technology and management, a master’s degree in business analytics, and a set of microcredentials and nondegree programs. Tesluk also built partnerships with other schools at the university and supported cross-disciplinary initiatives such as the Stephen Still Institute for Sustainable Transportation and Logistics, the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences, and the Social Impact Fellows program that places teams of students in internships in local mission-driven organizations. Tesluk will return to the faculty as the Donald S. Carmichael Professor of Organizational Behavior in the department of organization and human resources.

Honors and Awards

The United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) presented three individuals with awards at its annual conference this month. The recipients included two business professors. Heidi Neck, the Jeffry A. Timmons Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, was named USASBE’s Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year. Neck was honored for her work as academic director of the Babson Academy for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurial Learning, her leadership of Babson's Symposia for Entrepreneurship Educators, and her training of more than 3,000 faculty in the teaching of entrepreneurship. Donald F. Kuratko, the Jack M. Gill Chair of Entrepreneurship at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business in Bloomington, received the Max S. Wortman/USASBE Lifetime Achievement Award for Entrepreneurship. As the director of the school’s Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation since 2004, Kuratko has been a leader in entrepreneurship education and research. In addition, the John E. Hughes/USASBE Award for Entrepreneurial Advocacy went to J. Fielding Miller, co-founder and CEO of the investment advisory firm CAPTRUST. In 2015, Miller and his wife funded the Miller School of Entrepreneurship at his alma mater, East Carolina University.

New Programs

The University of Tampa in Florida has launched a certificate program called Modern Advances in Leadership that is open to graduate students and mid-level professionals. Presented by the Sykes College of Business TECO Energy Center for Leadership, the program is designed to help individuals enhance negotiation skills, develop an entrepreneurial leadership spirit, and understand contextual factors in the workplace. As part of the program, participants will receive three leadership coaching sessions from professional coaches.

In January, the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business in College Park is launching an online certificate program called the Blockchain Business Imperative. During the six-week synchronous program, students will get an overview of foundational blockchain technologies, learn about cryptocurrencies, and explore blockchain business applications. Participants can apply for entry to Maryland Smith’s Blockchain Accelerator, a 60-day program that helps early-stage companies leverage blockchain technology. Participants who complete the Blockchain Business Imperative will receive a professional digital certificate and 3.3 continuing education credits from the university, as well as a Credly digital badge.

MIP, the Business School of Politecnico di Milano in Italy, has launched the New Generation MBA, which will teach MBA students how to sustain higher levels of meaningfulness, motivation, and effectiveness in themselves and their organizations. Along with developing hard skills, participants will learn to engage people, connect to emotions, create high levels of engagement, and pursue positive impacts on society with sustainable financial performance.

Collaborations

Post University in Waterbury, Connecticut, has partnered with the Connecticut/Rhode Island Alliance of YMCAs to provide YMCA employees with access to education and to provide managers with customized executive leadership programs. The agreement will allow YMCA employees at 25 locations across both states to enroll in the university’s full roster of degree options at significantly reduced tuition rates. The agreement also will provide internship opportunities for students through Post’s Malcolm Baldrige School of Business and John P. Burke School of Public Service and Education.

Twelve business schools from around the world will take part in the second iteration of an MBA course that encourages students to critically examine today’s socioeconomic system and provides a vision for how business can help promote a fairer and more equitable society. The three-month-long Future of Capitalism course first launched in January 2021 as a joint venture among IESE in France, Shizenkan University in Japan, the School of Inspired Leadership in India, and Fundação Getulio Vargas in Brazil. Eight new schools have joined the program for its second edition. They include Copenhagen Business School, IMD in Switzerland, IPADE in Mexico, IPB University Business School in Indonesia, Lagos Business School in Nigeria, Seoul National University, Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico, and Universiti Sains Malaysia. The elective, which is open to MBA students at the 12 participating schools, explores the key issues society faces within the capitalist system today and invites students to devise ways business can have a more positive role in society. During the course, students engage in virtual conversations with a variety of guest speakers from around the world, including formerly homeless children and former child soldiers. They will also hear from top executives, entrepreneurs, policymakers, activists, and academics.

Other News

ESSEC Business School in France has launched the Global Circular Economy Chair, which aims to train leaders to rethink business models to incorporate sustainable solutions. The chair is supported by cosmetics company L’Oréal, eyewear company EssilorLuxottica, and construction company Bouygues. The chair will promote an international ecosystem of companies, startups, think tanks, academic institutions, and government bodies that will contribute to the public debate for the introduction of future regulations in Europe and worldwide. Dedicated to students of ESSEC’s Master in Management program, the chair’s first class is set to graduate in September 2022. The project was initiated by Pierre-Emmanuel Saint-Esprit, executive director of the chair. Saint-Esprit is co-founder of ZACK, a startup that specializes in the circular economy. ZACK has been named the expert partner for the chair.

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