People and Places: August 22, 2023
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![]() New ProgramsThis summer, Nottingham University Business School in the U.K. launched the Executive Programme in Strategic Technical Leadership. The program, which blends in-person and online interactive workshops, is aimed at current and aspiring technical leaders in the higher education sector. It was co-developed by two professors at the university, Hannah Noke and Kelly Vere. The program covers topics such as transforming the technical profession, exploring current issues in strategic technical leadership, enhancing technical training and the student experience, and navigating the policy and government landscape in higher education and research. Kelly founded and leads the Technician Commitment, a sectorwide initiative to ensure career development and sustainability for the technical community across higher education. This fall, the University of Dayton in Ohio will launch a new business analytics major in the School of Business Administration. The degree is designed to equip students with the business and technical skills they need to use data to make strategic decisions. Students will take classes in database design, business intelligence, and machine learning. They also will complete a capstone to address a challenge for a client. Business analytics students can pursue double majors in any of the school’s business majors to further specialize their analytical skills. The Women’s Innovation Lab will begin this fall at Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business Executive Education in Atlanta. The virtual, four-day certificate program for women is aimed at emerging entrepreneurs around the world who want to explore turning their ideas into enterprises or who want guidance on growing their businesses. The accelerated program is taught by Melissa Heffner and Sara Martin Henderson, program directors for Georgia Tech’s VentureLab. The program consists of synchronous sessions in the mornings and assignments in the afternoons, and it culminates with a final capstone project. Students can attend an optional in-person networking opportunity during the last session to meet classmates and guest speakers. The M3 Center at the University of South Florida’s Muma College of Business in Tampa is offering three new online certificate courses for free. Resilient Leadership in an Anxious World, a four-unit course based on the work of American psychiatrist Murray Bowen, introduces participants to the Resilient Leadership model. The Customer Centricity Foundations Certificate is provided by Almenta International, which specializes in training and professional development, consulting, coaching, and speaking services. The Cross-Cultural Leadership Certificate is a seven-module course that teaches participants to value and honor the differences between themselves and others. CollaborationsThe Luter School of Business at Christopher Newport University (CNU) in Newport News, Virginia, is partnering with the Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce to encourage regional cities to work together to grow the local economy. William Donaldson, an associate professor of management at CNU, has joined forces with Peninsula Chamber President and CEO Bob McKenna to bring together about 170 regional business owners, industry professionals, academics, and community leaders to identify opportunities and solve problems. In twice-monthly meetings, participants will discuss topics such as business, public safety, public transportation, education, and the region’s workforce of highly educated technical workers. King’s Business School at King’s College London is partnering with the hospitality sector’s Energy and Environment Alliance (EEA) to offer an executive education program that will enable hospitality leaders to embed environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues into their businesses. The program was developed through discussions with more than 40 hospitality leaders, who discussed the effects of COVID-19, energy price spikes, and new sustainability disclosure standards from the International Sustainability Standards Board. Participants noted that these factors had provided both an impetus and an opportunity to accelerate progress on environmental measures ahead of the commitment made by more than 100 countries to reach net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050. The program, which launches in September, covers current and planned regulation and ESG reporting requirements, green financing options, and ways to achieve more sustainable outcomes through marketing. The partners also are creating a complementary ESG course for general managers and hotel operating teams. Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, is partnering with Kuwait College of Science and Technology (KCST) to provide a new executive education program for Kuwaiti business leaders. The program, offered through KCST’s Centre of Innovation and Continuing Education and Training, is designed to equip mid-career professionals with the skills they need to succeed in an evolving global marketplace. Courses cover topics such as corporate governance, digital transformation, and global sustainability initiatives that address the world’s ESG challenges. Courses are delivered in Kuwait City by Bentley faculty. The Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford in the U.K. has partnered with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (AICPA & CIMA) to launch an executive education course on ESG and sustainable financial strategy. The six-week online course, which begins in late September, will give participants a detailed understanding of ESG concepts, reporting frameworks, and assurance considerations. It also will cover how sustainability issues impact organizational decision-making and how resources can be allocated for value creation and preservation. Future sessions will be offered quarterly. In advance of the first program, AICPA & CIMA is offering sustainability webcasts on ESG and performance management, the role of accounting professionals in ESG reporting and disclosure, and foundational carbon accounting. Grants and DonationsThe Ivey Business School at Western University in London, Ontario, has announced a landmark 30 million CAD (22.1 million USD) gift from Canadian philanthropist Donald K. Johnson. The gift will support a new campus in downtown Toronto, including the new Donald K. Johnson Centre. The facility will allow the school to expand offerings for working professionals and provide space for alumni and student programming, symposiums, and idea forums. The 36,000-square-foot facility is triple the footprint of Ivey’s current Toronto campus and will double the school’s classroom and study room capacity. The College of Business at California State University in Chico has announced a 10 million USD gift from tax and accounting professional Jon E. Krabbenschmidt, an alumnus. Krabbenschmidt donated the first half of the money this spring and will follow up with the second half later. The gift will go toward the construction of a new building for the business school. The planned building will include spaces for active, experiential, and immersive learning; conference breakout rooms; collaboration spaces; centers for excellence; and dedicated spaces for faculty research and signature programs. Other NewsOn August 1, Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, formally became Canisius University. To honor the occasion, the school rolled out a new strategic plan, as well as a new branding initiative. School leaders say that Canisius’ transition to university status reflects the institution’s commitment to academic innovation that meets societal needs and makes education more accessible. According to Canisius president Steve K. Stoute, “The designation as a university is simultaneously a reflection of what this institution has achieved, a responsibility to continue to impact students and communities, as well as an opportunity to reimagine what Canisius must be in the future.” The university is home to the Richard J. Wehle School of Business. If you have news of interest to share with the business education community, please send press releases, relevant images, or other information to AACSB Insights at [email protected]. |