2022 Undergraduate Deans Conference

Naveen Jindal School of Management building

Undergraduate Deans Conference

2022 Register Now

The Annual Undergraduate Deans Conference, March 1-2, 2022

No Registration Fee

Are you responsible for the competitiveness of your undergraduate programs?
Are you experiencing difficulties in recruiting First-Time-in-College Freshman students?
Would you like to improve the overall ranking of your undergraduate programs?
Would you like to build quality relationships with industries to market your programs?
Are you in the process of developing a STEM program or enhancing your curriculum?

If you experience these issues, you are not alone. The conference hosted by Jindal School of Management brings a unique colloquium specific to assistant and associate deans who are involved in developing and managing different aspects of undergraduate programs and curriculum.

This conference is a premier colloquium for designing, developing, and even reinventing undergraduate programs. We plan to encourage thought-provoking conversations, debates on several issues confronting business school leaders/deans, and discussions of emerging ideas to promote program success at every level from the classroom through the dean’s suite.

Download Proceedings

2022 UT Dallas

2021 UT Dallas

Free Registration

JSOM Highlights

Interested in Being a Speaker or Serving on a Faculty Panel?

Experts from various universities will provide insights and share their innovative techniques. If you are interested in sharing your experiences as a speaker or panelist, please email Associate Dean, Shawn Alborz. The agenda may include:

Brand Development and Differentiation
University and Industry Rankings
Methods to Grow Domestic Enrollment
Mentoring and Alumni Programs
Virtual Student Engagements

Curriculum Development
Honors, Research and Faculty Excellence
Study Abroad and Exchange Programs
Program Assessment (AACSB)
Building Industry Advisory Board and Relationships

Organizing Committee

If there are topics you would like to see on the program, please let us know and we would be happy to add it to the program agenda.

Conference Chair, UT Dallas
Associate Dean, Undergraduate Programs

salborz@utdallas.edu | (972) 883-6455

Conference Co-Chair, UT Dallas
Project Manager, Undergraduate Programs

Shirley.Yu@utdallas.edu | (972) 883-4986

Message from Dean

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the 2022 Undergraduate Deans Conference. We are pleased to welcome you to Naveen Jindal School of Management (JSOM), at UT Dallas and we hope you enjoy your time with us.

This year’s conference will focus on differentiation, competitiveness and several exciting topics, and the importance of strong industry engagement and partnerships for outstanding undergraduate programs and curriculum. This is a wonderful opportunity for business school leaders to share their successes and exchange ideas as together they confront challenges and recognize innovations in the field.

I would like to thank the conference program committee, for their time and dedication to planning and delivering this conference. I am confident you will have a reinvigorated view of the work you do in your programs.

Best wishes for a productive and enjoyable conference.

Hasan Pirkul, PhD
Dean and Caruth Chair of Management

Keynote Speaker

Biography: Sandeep Krishnamurthy, PhD

Dear Friends,

Dr. Krishnamurthy was the founding dean of the University of Washington, Bothell in 2012.

His work in establishing the School of Business as a major regional partner has led to the success of three major industry conferences – The Accounting Business Conference, Connect – Supply Chain Management Conference, and the Pacific Northwest MBA Conference. He has launched three speaker series – Meet the CEO, Frontiers of Global Business, and the Nintex Leadership Breakfast Series. He hosted an annual gala that brings in over 200 business leaders, supporting student scholarships and key programs within the School of Business. Dr. Krishnamurthy is a sought-out speaker, giving talks on e-commerce at conferences, workshops, and research gatherings worldwide.

Dr. Krishnamurthy has set up campus partnerships and helped create a campus-level program in analytics, and numerous courses he developed and taught focused on marketing and e-commerce. He established connections with major regional corporations like Microsoft, T-Mobile, and Avanade.

Dr. Krishnamurthy’s writings are extensive and covered a wide range of topics. From the state of business education in the COVID-19 pandemic to brand advertising, e-commerce to marketing research, open-source development to consumer power, and many other subjects. His work has appeared in the Journal of Business Research, Consumer Needs and Solutions, Research Policy, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Journal of Advertising Research, and International Journal of Non-Profit and Voluntary Sector Marketing.

He received his PhD from the University of Arizona in marketing with a minor in Economics in 1996, PGDBM (an MBA) from XLRI, and a B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay.

Best wishes,
Sandeep Krishnamurthy, PhD
Dean at University of Washington, Bothell

Conference Agenda

The tentative schedule is noted below and will be updated periodically.

Schedule for Tuesday March 01, 2022 (Central Time)
Time	Program
09:50 – 10:00 AM	Attend Virtual via Microsoft Teams
10:00 – 10:05 AM	Conference Welcome: Shawn Alborz (UT Dallas)
10:05 – 11:00 AM	Keynote: The future of business education in the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic Speaker: Dr. Sandeep Krishnamurthy, Dean at University of Washington, Bothell
11:00 – 12:00 PM	Session #1: Attracting, Retaining, and Building Student Enrollment The pandemic has impacted the process of recruiting new students and retaining them, and schools are rethinking their approaches. In this session, learn from a panel of experts how their schools successfully implemented innovative ways to increase their enrollment and overall retention rates. Panelists: Ramandeep Randhawa – Vice Dean, University of Southern California, and Tiffani Frye – Associate Dean, University of Southern California Shannon Mitchell – Associate Dean, Virginia Commonwealth University Anne Nelson – Assistant Dean, Cleveland State University
12:00 – 12:15 PM	Coffee Break
12:15 – 01:15 PM	Session #2: Preparing UG Business Students for Success in a Post Covid World Employers seek to hire undergraduate students with strong technical skills, but often employers discover that weak or under-developed communications skills are what set students back in their careers. The communication curriculum is no longer focused on developing written and presentation skills but also on how students influence others, resolve conflicts, and build relationships. Learn from schools that have traversed this new phase and explore ways that help prepare students for success in the industry. Panelists: Laura Uribarri – Assistant Dean, University of Texas at El Paso Monica Shukla-Belmontes – Associate Dean, University of Massachusetts Global, and Laura Galloway – Associate Dean, University of Massachusetts Global Frederic Brunel – Associate Dean, Boston University
01:15 – 02:15 PM	Session #3: Retaining and Re-engaging Faculty and Staff Post Covid The “great resignation” has impacted business schools substantially due to Covid. Staff desire remote work; faculty want to teach in a format that provides more flexibility, and the deans want both staff and faculty to be readily available to serve students. These shifting expectations have also impacted students as they have developed expectations to negotiate everything from assignments to how they attend class. In the end, overall performance and output have changed, and to some degree, it has decreased. This session discusses how to prepare, inspire, and re-engage faculty and staff to increase productivity, responsiveness, and quality of work. Panelists: Michele Pfund – Associate Dean, Arizona State University, and Dan Gruber – Associate Dean, Arizona State University Jim Hurley – Assistant Dean, Case Western Reserve University Marlys Mason – Associate Dean, Oklahoma State University
02:15 – 02:30 PM	Wrap up: Shawn Alborz (UT Dallas)

Schedule for Wednesday March 02, 2022 (Central Time)
Time	Program
09:50 – 10:00 AM	Attend Virtual via Microsoft Teams
10:00 – 11:00 AM	Session #4: A New Era for Innovation in UG Programs We often think that “change” is painfully slow in the academic world, but the impact of the pandemic has accelerated the change process. How do business schools get ahead of employer, parent, and student expectations? How do we adapt quickly to stay ahead of what is expected in the future? This session explores innovative approaches that some business schools have taken to get ahead and set a new bar for excellence in undergraduate education. Panelists: Robert Whitelaw – Vice Dean, New York University Shu Schiller – Associate Dean, Wright State University Laura Kornish – Associate Dean, University of Colorado Leeds
11:00 – 12:00 PM	Session #5: Tools and Technologies in Business Education Vendors fill our email boxes with new technologies that can positively impact student outcomes. The pandemic gave them substantial time to develop a wide array of new tools for schools to consider. However, selecting the right tools and technologies for business schools has become complicated and overwhelming for the deans. This session discusses the tools some business schools implemented to help their students and faculty, and most importantly, to increase the effectiveness of their schools’ various business processes. Panelists: Sarah Moore – Business Communication Director, UT Dallas
12:00 – 12:15 PM	Coffee Break
12:15 – 01:15 PM	Session #6: Student Engagement Matters Since March 2020, undergraduate students have become increasingly comfortable with learning and existing in a virtual world. A virtual environment helped them be invisible to their teachers and classmates and resulted in limited classroom and co-curricular engagements since returning to face-to-face instruction in fall 2021. Helping students adjust back to face-to-face engagement will be critical if we are to prepare them for life-long career success. This session explores how business schools have invested in creating, re-engaging, and sustaining high levels of student engagement. Panelists: Kaustav Misra – Associate Dean, Central Connecticut State University Kevin Jackson – Associate Dean, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign Chuck Allen – Assistant Dean, Temple University
01:15 – 02:15 PM	Session #7: Supporting Students’ Mental Health Needs Post-Covid Universities are struggling to manage the increasing demand for mental health services among college students due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many students, particularly those closer to graduating, are mentally suffering from anxiety and depression, struggling with the inability to socialize and other issues due to the impact of continued isolation. Learn from universities on how they assist their students and prepare their school personnel with resources to remedy the widespread mental health issue. Panelists: John Bingham – Associate Dean, Brigham Young University Mari Buche – Associate Dean, Michigan Technological University Jenny Zhang – Associate Dean, California State University – Fullerton
02:15 – 02:30 PM	Wrap Up: Shawn Alborz (UT Dallas)

Welcome to Jindal School of Management, UT Dallas Campus