Associate Deans Conference

Begin your day by networking over coffee. This is an excellent opportunity to reconnect with colleagues, make new connections, and discuss the sessions ahead.

Connect with peers, meet exhibitors, and explore fresh ideas in the Exhibitor Showcase, a space designed to help you build relationships, discover new solutions, and make the most of your time at the conference.

As AI reshapes higher education, business schools are pioneering strategies to boost engagement, enhance learning outcomes, and meet evolving accreditation standards. This session spotlights how Michigan State University's Broad College of Business integrated Breakout Learning’s AI-moderated discussion platform into its core curriculum, tripling student engagement in large foundational courses.

As AI reshapes higher education, business schools are pioneering strategies to boost engagement, enhance learning outcomes, and meet evolving accreditation standards. This session spotlights how Michigan State University's Broad College of Business integrated Breakout Learning’s AI-moderated discussion platform into its core curriculum, tripling student engagement in large foundational courses.

The conference will open with welcome remarks from Carrie Summerlin, followed by an interactive session led by Stephanie Bryant. After a brief overview of the major updates in the 2026 Global Standards for Business Education, participants will focus on the most significant update—Teaching Effectiveness. Through practical examples, discussion, and table-based activities, participants will explore what meaningful teaching effectiveness criteria should look like for their schools, how to distinguish strong criteria from weak criteria, and strategies for applying those criteria across a variety of institutional contexts—including when data may be limited. Attendees will leave with actionable tools and ideas they can use to develop or refine their own teaching effectiveness framework. For those seeking a comprehensive overview of all standards updates, a full recording of the 2026 Global Standards Refresh session is available here: https://events.ringcentral.com/events/aacsb-business-and-accounting-standards-revisions-final-standards-proposed-for-member-vote

Network with peers and check out the Discover AACSB area to explore our products and services, including the Academy, technology and data, and additional resources to support your institution.

Budget pressures are becoming a permanent feature of academic leadership. This candid conversation explores how associate deans are making difficult decisions about staffing, program portfolios, technology investments, and strategic priorities. Panelists will share practical approaches for balancing financial realities with long-term institutional goals while preserving faculty engagement and student success.Budget pressures are becoming a permanent feature of academic leadership. This candid conversation explores how associate deans are making difficult decisions about staffing, program portfolios, technology investments, and strategic priorities. Speakers will share practical approaches for balancing financial realities with long-term institutional goals while preserving faculty engagement and student success. 

Business schools are under mounting pressure to improve student outcomes while advancing strategic priorities, working within unique contexts, resources, governance structures, and learner populations. This session presents two case studies demonstrating how readily available – but often underutilized – data, institutional expertise, and cross-functional collaboration can be leveraged to identify barriers and implement strategic initiatives that strengthen recruitment and retention. Participants will gain practical strategies for mobilizing existing resources and improving student outcomes while adapting ideas to fit their own institutional context and strategic priorities. 

More details to follow.

Connect with peers, meet exhibitors, and explore fresh ideas in the Exhibitor Showcase, a space designed to help you build relationships, discover new solutions, and make the most of your time at the conference.

Network with peers and check out the Discover AACSB area to explore our products and services, including the Academy, technology and data, and additional resources to support your institution. Stop by to visit exhibitors and enjoy coffee and refreshments.

Are schools over-measuring learning while underusing the results? Teams will debate the future of AoL, discussing direct versus indirect measures, meaningful assessment, and how to generate actionable insights that improve teaching and learning. Audience discussion will challenge attendees to rethink their own assessment practices. 

Associate deans are increasingly expected to lead major initiatives—from AI adoption and curriculum redesign to new program launches and organizational change—often without direct authority over the people responsible for implementing them. Success requires more than management skills; it requires influence, relationship-building, and the ability to create momentum across diverse stakeholder groups. This session explores practical strategies for leading change in complex academic environments. Through examples and peer discussion, participants will examine how to build support, navigate resistance, and advance institutional priorities while balancing the many demands of the associate dean role.

The regulatory environment for higher education is evolving rapidly, with significant implications for business schools. This session will examine the latest federal policy and regulatory developments—including rules on graduate student loans, program accountability, the status of the Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization (AIM) negotiated rulemaking, and Uniform Guidance updates affecting research grants. Participants will gain a clearer understanding of how these changes may impact institutional strategy, operations, accreditation, and research, and leave better equipped to anticipate and respond to an evolving regulatory landscape. 

Relax and enjoy the company of your colleagues. This reception is the perfect opportunity to unwind and continue the day’s discussions in a more informal setting.

Begin the final day with networking over breakfast. Reflect on the insights gained and prepare for the final sessions.

Connect with peers, meet exhibitors, and explore fresh ideas in the Exhibitor Showcase, a space designed to help you build relationships, discover new solutions, and make the most of your time at the conference.

Stepping into an associate dean role means balancing competing priorities, navigating uncertainty, and making high-stakes decisions from day one. In this interactive simulation, participants will tackle realistic leadership scenarios involving faculty, students, accreditation, AI, and operations while deciding when to act, delegate, escalate, or redesign processes. Leave with practical tools and strategies to confidently navigate your first year and build a foundation for long-term success. 

Faculty expectations are changing alongside the academic landscape. This session explores strategies for developing faculty talent, encouraging innovation, fostering teaching effectiveness, and aligning faculty activities with institutional priorities. Attendees will leave with practical ideas for creating a culture of continuous improvement and engagement.

Strong partnerships between universities and industry are essential for preparing future talent, advancing innovation, and strengthening regional economic development.

Many of the challenges facing business schools—talent development, technological disruption, organizational change, and workforce transformation—are being addressed across a range of industries. This session brings perspectives from sectors such as technology, healthcare, consulting, and aviation to explore how leaders outside higher education are navigating change and preparing for the future. Participants will gain fresh insights into leadership, innovation, organizational agility, and talent strategy, while identifying practices that can be adapted to strengthen business school operations and student outcomes.

Network with peers and check out the Discover AACSB area to explore our products and services, including the Academy, technology and data, and additional resources to support your institution. Stop by to visit exhibitors and enjoy coffee and refreshments.

Associate deans are often called upon to navigate complex leadership challenges with limited time, competing priorities, and no clear roadmap. In this highly interactive peer consulting session, participants will work through real challenges submitted by fellow attendees - from faculty resistance and curriculum redesign to enrollment pressures, organizational change, and resource constraints. Guided by a facilitator, participants will ask questions, share experiences, and generate practical recommendations drawn from their collective expertise. Attendees will leave with actionable ideas for their own institutions while benefiting from the wisdom of a community facing many of the same challenges.

Leadership in today's business school environment comes with no shortage of complex challenges. In this interactive session, associate deans will come together to discuss the most pressing issues affecting their roles—from faculty and curriculum management to accreditation, student success, AI integration, and strategic priorities. Through facilitated small-group discussions, participants will share experiences, exchange practical ideas, and collaborate on solutions to common challenges. This session provides a valuable opportunity to connect with peers, gain fresh perspectives, and leave with actionable insights from colleagues facing many of the same leadership questions. 

Leadership often operates within established assumptions, competing priorities, and institutional traditions that can unintentionally limit innovation. Inspired by Roger von Oech's The Creative Contrarian, this highly interactive session invites associate deans to step outside conventional thinking and explore new possibilities through structured creative exercises. Participants will engage in collaborative "What if?" challenges, visual thinking activities, and guided reflection to reimagine business education leadership, institutional culture, student engagement, and innovation. Rather than focusing on immediate solutions, the session develops creative thinking as a leadership capability and introduces practical facilitation techniques participants can use to foster more innovative conversations within their own institutions. 

As expectations for research impact continue to evolve, associate deans play a critical role in shaping the strategies, incentives, and environments that enable faculty to produce research that is both rigorous and relevant. This session will begin with highlights from AACSB's newly released report, A Framework for Research Impact: Insights, Pathways, and Calls to Action, developed by the Research Impact Task Force. A panel of associate deans and research leaders from a range of business schools will then discuss how institutions can foster research impact, align faculty incentives with strategic priorities, navigate implementation challenges, and strengthen the influence of business school research beyond academia.

Connect with peers, meet exhibitors, and explore fresh ideas in the Exhibitor Showcase, a space designed to help you build relationships, discover new solutions, and make the most of your time at the conference.

Network with peers and check out the Discover AACSB area to explore our products and services, including the Academy, technology and data, and additional resources to support your institution.

Some of the best ideas come from colleagues who have faced, and solved, the same challenges you are tackling today. In this series of short talks, associate deans will share practical solutions implemented at their institutions, including what worked, what they learned, and what others can adapt for their own schools.

Two business schools, two different paths to institution-wide AI integration. One began experimenting early and formalized its approach over time through AI-focused degrees, course designations, and stackable credentials. The other moved quickly with a structured strategy from the outset, establishing a task force, a three-tier implementation framework, spaces for experimentation, and faculty and student fellows in its first year. Whether your school is just getting started or expanding existing efforts, you'll leave with practical ideas, and one change you can implement in the coming year.

Conference closing comments will offer a brief opportunity to reflect on key themes, insights, and takeaways that emerged over the course of the event.