People and Places: November 8, 2022

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Tuesday, November 8, 2022
By AACSB Staff
Dominique Turpin takes the reins at CEIBS, Eric Johnson steps down at Vanderbilt, and the University of Illinois receives a 25 million USD gift.

Transitions

In May 2023, Caryn Beck-Dudley will retire as president and CEO of AACSB International, a position she has held since June 2020. During her tenure, Beck-Dudley led the organization through the pandemic, a time when AACSB shifted all events and operations from in-person to virtual and hybrid environments. She ensured a smooth transition to the 2020 Business Accreditation Standards and invested in AACSB’s data capabilities. As leader of the association, Beck-Dudley placed a strong emphasis on advancing the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, and she stressed the importance of business schools partnering with business, governments, and non-profits to create societal good.

AACSB International has appointed Ronald Tuninga as vice president and managing director for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Tuninga is the former vice president of academic affairs at Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, chair of the Research Centre International Business at HAN University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, pro vice chancellor (Enterprise) and dean of the Faculty of Business and Law at Kingston University London, and dean at AVT Business School in Copenhagen. He was also the former director dean at the Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands. Tuninga succeeds Tim Mescon, executive vice president and chief officer of EMEA, who will retire in December 2022.

Dominique Turpin has been appointed President (European) of the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai. Between 2010 and 2016, Turpin was president and dean of IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he has been serving as a professor of marketing. He has been a member of the CEIBS Academic Council since the school’s founding; he also is a board member of EFMD and sits on international advisory boards of the Stockholm School of Economics in Sweden and the Waseda Business School in Japan. Turpin took his post at CEIBS on September 1, replacing Dipak C. Jain, who was instrumental in the internationalization and global branding of the school.

Jennifer S. Conrad has been named interim dean of Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She is the Dalton McMichael Distinguished Professor of Finance at the school. Conrad, a faculty member since 1985, has taught in undergraduate, master’s, and PhD programs. She was serving as senior associate dean for academic affairs in 2011 when the school announced its online MBA@UNC and the online format of its Master of Accounting program, and she developed one of the first courses for MBA@UNC. In 2016, she was honored with the school’s Roy W. Holsten Exceptional Service Award. Conrad also has served on the boards of directors for the Financial Management Association, the Western Finance Association, and the American Finance Association.

On January 1, Robert D. Allen will begin his role as dean of the Utah Valley University’s Woodbury School of Business in Orem. Allen comes from the Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. He most recently acted as a faculty advisor for the Opportunity Scholars Program, which supports first-year students and those from underrepresented groups. Prior to that, he was director of the School of Accounting. In August 2022, Allen completed a term as president of the American Accounting Association, where much of his work focused on addressing issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the organization.

M. Eric Johnson, the dean of the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, will step down when his term ends in June 2023. After a sabbatical, he will return to teaching in 2024. Johnson first came to the Owen School as a teacher in 1991, before leaving to spend 14 years at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business in Hanover, New Hampshire. He returned to Vanderbilt Owen as its seventh dean in 2013. During his deanship, the school completed a 55 million USD renovation and expansion of Management Hall, which increased the school’s space by 50 percent. Johnson also oversaw additional donor-funded renovations, the establishment of four research centers, and the launch of a Master of Marketing program.

New Programs

The Cranfield School of Management in the U.K. has launched Global Online Stackable Programmes, which offer learners self-paced learning and pay-as-you-go options. The new initiative recognizes the need for lifelong learning structured around flexible working styles. Students can stack modules to attain any level of learning, from a four-hour Bronze Cranfield Digital Certificate to a Master of Science degree. Topics include transformation and design, risk and resilience, and sustainable and ethical business. Students can combine on-demand study with faculty-led online sessions and Impact Accelerator workshops that support their learning goals.


ESSEC Business School in Cergy, France, and graduate engineering school CentraleSupélec in Paris have joined forces to create an international post-baccalaureate program in artificial intelligence, data science, and management. The program will lead to a diploma awarded jointly by the two institutions. Taught full-time in English, the four-year program combines a foundation in general management with in-depth knowledge of scientific models, mathematical modeling, and data analysis. It includes a three-month company internship at the end of the second year, a corporate research project at the start of the fourth year, and opportunities to study at partner schools. The first cohort will be admitted in September 2023.


The College of Professional and Continuing Studies at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York, has introduced seven-and-a-half-week asynchronous online programs in business and liberal studies. Business programs are taught by faculty from Adelphi’s Robert B. Willumstad School of Business. Aimed at adult learners, the courses are designed to offer flexible learning options for nontraditional students and those balancing work and family lives. Applicants receive pre-advising to help them personalize their educational options, and some can receive credit for prior learning gained from life experiences. The condensed courses allow adult learners to concentrate on fewer courses, professors, and academic goals at any one time.


Grants and Donations

The University of Illinois’ Gies College of Business in Champaign has received a 25 million USD gift in support of the South Campus Center for Interdisciplinary Learning (SCCIL), a high-tech facility that will be shared by several of the university’s schools and colleges. The new building will provide additional studio space and recording capabilities to create online courses and programs. It also will offer expanded collaborative space for experiential learning and group work, support enrollment growth with larger classrooms, and provide office space for faculty and support staff. Gies Business will raise about half of the 105 million USD needed to construct the four-story building, which is expected to be completed by early 2025. The lead gift was given by an alum who currently wishes to remain anonymous, although the donor will eventually choose the name for the building.


Centers and Facilities

Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School in College Station held a ceremony last month to celebrate breaking ground on its new Business Education Complex. The complex, which will add a new state-of-the art building to existing structures, is slated for occupancy in spring of 2025. The new building will include flexible learning spaces, a grand atrium, a café, high-tech learning studios, and outdoor seating. It also will house Mays’ Center for Executive Development. Construction is being financed through a mix of donations from private donors and funds from the offices of the president and the provost. Among the notable donations are 15 million USD from the Mays Foundation; 7.5 million USD from Wayne Roberts, retired CEO of Abrigo, a banking software company; and a 5 million USD pledge from Jerry Cox, president of Cox and Perkins Exploration, an oil and gas production firm.


Other News

Montclair State University and Bloomfield College, both in New Jersey, have signed an agreement to merge their organizations to create Bloomfield College of Montclair State University. Set to be finalized by June 30, 2023, the merger comes about a year after Bloomfield College announced it was seeking strategic partnerships to enable the four-year institution to continue to offer educational pathways to its students, more than 80 percent of whom are people of color. According to Jonathan Koppell, president of Montclair State University, “This partnership could serve as a new national model for how institutions with similar missions can innovate through integration and become partners in ensuring student success instead of competitors.”


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].

Authors
AACSB Staff
The views expressed by contributors to AACSB Insights do not represent an official position of AACSB, unless clearly stated.
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