People and Places: February 22, 2022

Transitions

Gareth James has been announced as the next dean of Goizueta Business School at Emory University in Atlanta. James comes to Emory from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where he serves as deputy dean, E. Morgan Stanley Chair in Business Administration, and professor of data sciences and operations. In 2019–20, he was interim dean and led the school’s COVID-19 response. He has also served as vice dean of faculty. He will start his new position on July 1.

Shu-Chuan Jennifer Yeh has been named dean of the College of Management at National Sun Yat-Sen University in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. A professor in the department of business management, Yeh has been the associate dean at the school since 2016. She has also served on the faculty of National Yang-Ming University. Her scholarship focuses on healthcare management, and she has been a principal investigator in research projects that include studies of long-term care and the effects of new health policies on quality and physician satisfaction. She began her new role on February 1.

Aron O’Cass has been appointed dean of La Trobe University’s Business School in Melbourne, Australia. He joins La Trobe from Macquarie University in Sydney, where he served as the head of the department of marketing. He has previously served in associate dean, head, and course director roles at three other Australian schools: the University of Tasmania, the University of Newcastle, and Griffith University. His areas of expertise include marketing strategy, innovation, and new product development. He began his new role in January.

Neoma Business School has announced that Delphine Manceau will continue as dean for four more years. NEOMA Business School has locations in Reims, Rouen, and Paris, France. Manceau, who has held the position since 2017, is also a professor of marketing and innovation at the school. During the next four years, she plans to capitalize on the school’s growth in the fields of digital technology and educational innovation. She also will unveil a new strategic roadmap for the school. Manceau was chair of AACSB’s European Advisory Council from 2018 to 2020

Brent Cunningham has been named interim dean of Jacksonville State University’s College of Business and Industry in Alabama. He began his new role on January 3. An alum of the school, Cunningham took his first role at Jacksonville State in 1999 as an assistant professor of marketing and ultimately became head of the department of management. He will serve in his new position until a new dean is found.

In June, Mark Herrmann will step down from his position as dean of the College of Business and Security Management at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. Herrmann joined the CBSM as an assistant professor of economics in 1991 and has served as dean since 2007. Herrmann is a fisheries economist and has performed extensive research on Alaska’s salmon, halibut, crab, and pollock fisheries. Under his tenure, the business school launched differential tuition, established the James Pruitt Endowed Chair, and maintained AACSB accreditation. (Photo by JR Ancheta)

Honors and Awards

The Case Centre has named Nuno Fernandes, professor of financial management at IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain, as winner of the 2022 Outstanding Case Teacher competition. Presented since 2013, the award recognizes teachers who are achieving excellence through innovative and creative approaches to case teaching. For instance, in 2021, Fernandes illustrated a portfolio management case by first discussing the GameStop phenomenon. According to Fernandes, cases connect students emotionally to the topic, which not only allows learning to “stick,” but also enables students “to integrate across different disciplines, while developing critical thinking skills.”

New Programs

In January, Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale announced an online certificate program aimed at educating 100 million learners by 2030. Because the Global Management and Entrepreneurship Certificate has been funded by a 25 million USD donation from the Francis and Dionne Najafi Global Initiative, there will be no costs to students, 70 percent of whom are expected to be women. The certificate program will consist of five courses that cover a range of 21st-century skills. Learners will receive a badge for each course they complete and a 15-unit certificate upon successful completion of all five courses.

Thunderbird plans to unroll the program in a phased approach. In year one, the initiative will focus on reaching learners in Iran, Kenya, Mexico, Indonesia, Egypt, India, Senegal, Brazil, and Vietnam by offering courses in their native languages. By year two, the program will be expanded across Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America and will be offered in at least 25 languages. By year four, the goal is for the Global Initiative to expand to Europe and Central Asia and be available in 40 languages.

The Smith School of Business at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, has launched the Master of Digital Product Management (MDPM) to help business leaders capitalize on digital transformation opportunities. The MDPM is a partnership between the Smith School and the School of Computing in the Faculty of Arts and Science at Queen’s University. The 12-month program, which starts in September, will be delivered virtually, with the exception of one residential session on campus. During the Knowledge Stream portion of the program, students will take courses in digital strategy and innovation, gamification and usability, and ethics. During the Application Stream, they will learn about design and systems thinking, cybersecurity, product analytics, systems architecture, and user experience optimization. An in-depth practicum will enable student teams to digitalize processes for real businesses.

This fall, Goizueta Business School at Emory University in Atlanta will launch an online format of its executive MBA program, in addition to on-campus and hybrid offerings. The online EMBA can be completed in 18 months and includes global immersion and executive skills immersion experiences, which online EMBA students may choose to complete in-person or remotely. Students will take classes exclusively through Goizueta’s Global Classrooms, which include two fully remote and one hybrid classroom that enable real-time interaction between in-person and remote students. The specialized classrooms allow great flexibility and collaboration through breakout room options, whiteboard technology, and tools that allow participants to share common assets.

Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business in Atlanta will introduce a Master of Science in Supply Chain Management (MS-SCM) in fall 2022. The 12-month program will emphasize the role of coordination and synchronization to create efficiencies and value across all components of the end-to-end supply chain. In addition to coursework, students will tackle a pressing supply chain challenge facing a host organization. They will have opportunities to network with members of the Global Logistics RoundTable, which includes executives from Chick-fil-A, Deloitte, The Home Depot, and Mercedes-Benz USA.

This fall, Quinnpiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, is launching a talent management program offered as a collaboration among the School of Business, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Communications. Students can choose from three distinct tracks to learn about the business of sports, esports, or entertainment. Students will be matched with applied course projects and internship opportunities to learn behind-the-scenes functions such as finance, event management, and facility management. Participants will have additional opportunities for experiential learning through the university’s Division I athletic teams, esports club, and student-run TV shows and podcasts, as well as the public relations firm run through the School of Communications. The university also is offering an accelerated dual degree in talent management and law, which enables graduates to become agents for individuals in the fields of sports, esports, and entertainment.

Collaborations

In an effort to make degree-based college education more affordable, Montclair State University in New Jersey has announced a partnership with Union County College, a public comprehensive community college. Programs will be offered at Union’s University Center in Scotch Plains. Montclair will lead the admissions process, and priority will be given to Union graduates who have obtained associate degrees. Montclair students can also take classes at the University Center, and Union students will be able to register for courses on the Montclair campus. Students can opt to complete bachelor’s degree programs in business, computer science, and education, as well as graduate degrees in business and educational leadership. The programming is also part of Montclair’s continued effort to address the needs of transfer students, who currently make up about a third of Montclair’s undergraduate population.

Grants and Donations

The Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles has received a 5 million USD gift from VanEck Associates to launch the VanEck Digital Assets Initiative. The gift will support an annual blockchain conference; new courses in cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and other digital assets; and collaborations between academic experts and industry leaders.

Other News

March 16 marks the official start of the Maryland Smith Blockchain Accelerator, an initiative of the Supply Chain Management Center and Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business in College Park. Early-stage companies that are building apps leveraging blockchain technology can apply to participate in the accelerator. The 45-day virtual program, which provides participants with content and mentorship, culminates with participants presenting their progress to investors in a Demo Day event. Participants also will have access to the FounderTrac virtual accelerator—an online collaborative company-building platform—and work closely with industry experts across computer science, engineering, and business. The accelerator complements the school’s six-week certificate program, Blockchain Business Imperative, which launched in January.

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