Message from the Dean
“It is my pleasure to inform you that the peer review team recommendation to extend accreditation for the degree programs in business offered by University of South Alabama is concurred with by the Continuous Improvement Review Committee (CIRC) and ratified by the Board of Directors.”
So began the letter that the College received from AACSB this summer. That sentence recognizes multiple years of planning and hard work structured to ensure that the Mitchell College of Business maintained an accreditation first earned in 1976. AACSB International is the premier business school accrediting agency in the world; around 800 schools worldwide hold the accreditation.
Maintaining accreditation is hard work. Every five years, a team from several of our peer institutions spends time in the College meeting with faculty, staff, students, and other external constituents reviewing outcomes discussed in a report that is supported by numerous appendices; the documents exceeded 1,000 pages. The report reviews the College’s strategic activities and innovations, program offerings, and faculty scholarship and engagement. Our faculty and staff went above and beyond to ensure a successful visit. Speaking of faculty and staff, three of the faculty and one of the staff were recognized for excellence during our annual fall retreat. These individuals are highlighted in another article in the newsletter.
This fall, we managed to keep the listing of Mitchell College activities to a single page (I admit that I had to reduce the font a couple of times). The College is busy with engagement activities albeit less so than last fall’s 50th Anniversary celebration. We are hosting alumni events in Baldwin County (September), Mobile County (October) and a watch party (Jags vs. Troy) in Chicago in October. We also welcome Kent Taylor, CEO of Texas Roadhouse, as our Executive Leadership Speaker series guest in October. Mr. Aaron Beam (former CFO, HealthSouth) returns to campus as our Ethics Lecture Speaker.
This month, the College kicks off ELEVATE: An Advanced Leadership Academy. Developed at the request of USA senior administration and staffed by Mitchell College faculty, the program is an eight-month cohort model of advanced leadership study and exploration. Dr. Greg Prescott will coordinate the program for the College.
In a few weeks, Dr. Binata Mukherjee will join the University as Director of Medical Leadership. A joint appointment with the USA College of Medicine, Dr. Mukherjee holds an MD from the University of Calcutta and an MBA from the University of Chicago. She formerly served as Marketing Director, Asia for Sanofi and most recently as Director Health Care Initiative for the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University.
We also welcome new faculty and staff to the College. Dr. Tristan Johnson joins the MCOB as an Assistant Professor of Accounting. A native of Pennsylvania, he holds a PhD from Florida State. Ms. Megan Bennett joins the College as Coordinator of Experiential Learning. She most recently served the University of Central Arkansas. Mr. David Potter is the College’s new Director of Academic Advising. He assumes the position held by Cindy Nobles who retired this summer. Also, Ms. Emmy Rieske will join the College full-time as Associate Director of Marketing and Communications. She has worked for the MCOB part-time for the past year.
Before I end, I’d like to recognize the MCOB Graduate Assistants. The group coordinated our annual Get Connected Day, an event that allows undergraduate students to visit representatives of College and campus organizations. This year’s event vastly exceeded all expectations; the group deserves another round of applause.
Best Regards,
Bob G. Wood