Colloquium Helps Equip Business School Administrators to Change Student Lives
More than 100 associate and assistant business school deans recently attended the inaugural Undergraduate Deans Conference to learn from one another ways to better develop and manage undergraduate business-school programs to benefit students.
Presented virtually on March 1 and 2 by the Naveen Jindal School of Management via Microsoft Teams, the colloquium drew participants from 84 universities. The conference is slated to become an annual event.
Dr. Hasan Pirkul, Caruth Chair and Jindal School’s dean, opened the conference with a welcome message. “Undergraduate programs are, in many ways, the most important programs that business schools do,” he said. “Why? This is the program where we have the most responsibility. Yes, a doctoral program is important. Yes, master’s programs are important — and we pay attention to those — but there, our students are older and so they are far more capable in terms of knowing what they are doing. Now, [in] the undergraduate program, we take very young students that are still in the formative years of their lives and we literally shape their lives.”
For those reasons, Pirkul said, the undergraduate programs are closest to his heart.
“Every time I look at those students, I see my own kids. and I know the responsibility on our shoulders is real,” he said.
Two Jindal School faculty members — Dr. Shawn Alborz, conference chair and the Jindal School’s associate dean for undergraduate programs; and co-chair Victoria McCrady, an assistant professor of instruction — headed the conference’s organizing committee.
“Dean Pirkul and I recognized the need for a forum such as this,” Alborz said, “one that brings together thought leaders who are succeeding in providing outstanding undergraduate business education in a competitive environment. … We are excited about the opportunities that it brings to us and our colleagues in other business schools.”
A Keynote on Competitive Differentiation
Klaus Dohrmann, an executive from DHL, the international delivery and mail service company, was the keynote speaker. His presentation, “Differentiation Matters in a Hyper Competitive World,” centered on business innovation as it relates to the competitive environment in which his supply chain logistics services company finds itself. But the ideas he outlined set the stage for subsequent discussions related to undergraduate business education programs.
Alborz had asked him “to provide our views on how to differentiate in our competitive environment,” said Dohrmann, vice president of sector development engineering, manufacturing and energy for DHL’s customer solutions and innovation. “I cannot help you so much with this environment at universities. But of course, you know I’d love to share how we in DHL look at this competitive environment and what we do to differentiate.”
Guidance for Going Forward
Other conference discussion topics included growing enrollment, mentoring programs, study-abroad programs, virtual learning, honors programs, undergraduate research programs and capstone senior projects such as those implemented recently by the Jindal School.
Alborz participated as a panelist in a session titled “Programs that Differentiate Your School: Honors, Undergraduate Research Programs and Capstone Senior Projects” and was an active discussant in all sessions.
It became apparent as he watched other presenters, Alborz said, “that the leadership, innovative approach and overall discussions inspired everyone. These thought-provoking discussions provided us with guidance on new initiatives to consider in enhancing our overall undergraduate programs.”
McCrady, also an active participant in session discussions, said the conference was “a true triumph.”
The conference fulfilled a critical need, she said, to address problem-solving. It “focused on ways — one after another — that business school leaders can build programs to better support, engage and develop students so that they have great educational experiences.”
Impacting the Undergraduate Experience
Dr. Robert F. Whitelaw, vice dean of the Undergraduate College at New York University’s Stern School of Business, wrote in a post-conference email that the conference was an invaluable opportunity to connect with and learn from educators and leaders across the country.
“Coming together is more important now than ever, as we all strive to anticipate and navigate a constantly changing environment, innovate to optimize the student experience. and educate and inspire tomorrow’s business leaders,” he wrote. “Even though our programs differ in many ways, we also face common challenges, and carving out time to share ideas and best practices benefits us as educators and, above all, our undergraduate business students.”
Dr. Charles Allen, assistant dean for undergraduate programs at Temple University’s Fox School of Business, appreciated the JSOM team’s efforts. “There was great conversation and lots of great idea sharing,” he wrote in a post-conference email. “I was able to do some great networking as well.”
Dr. Jennifer Percival, associate dean in the Manning School of Business at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, was a panelist at a session titled “Lessons Learned from Engaging Undergraduate Students Virtually and What Can We Expect Post-Covid?”
“[This] conference provided a wonderful opportunity for networking, sharing innovative solutions and [discussing] future trends in undergraduate education,” she wrote in an email. “It was an honor to present alongside colleagues from other top business schools to explore how we can positively impact the undergraduate experience.”
Alborz said that planning for the conference next year is already underway.
“We would like to express our gratitude to everyone who attended our conference and especially to the excellent presenters who shared their challenges and success stories,” he said. “I look forward to learning how each person who participated is implementing new initiatives in their management and business schools. I look forward to learning about those success stories.”
