Message from the Dean
Another holiday season is upon us. The years seem to be passing by more quickly; perhaps it’s that we have so much happening. I know it's been that way in the Mitchell College.
The Mitchell College fall started with a welcome to eleven new faculty. Although all are excellent additions, two are of special notes. Craig Pearce joins us as the Ben May Chair of Business. This fall he received the Alumni Fellow award from his alma mater Penn State. We also welcomed Joe Hair as our new DBA Director. The addition of Joe and the other new faculty will allow us to add a DBA in Marketing to our program beginning in May 2017.
This fall also marks the beginning of our Professional Resource Readiness Program (PREP) with MCOB freshman enrolling in the first of the course sequence. Sonya Clark has done an excellent job of getting the program underway and we look for great things from the program.
For the third year, we recognized National Business Women’s Week in October with almost forty local professional women sharing their experiences with our classes. For the first time in November, we recognized National Career Development Week. The week’s activities ranged from professional photograph opportunities for the students, mock interview sessions, and seminars on leadership: How to get hired, How to get promoted, and How not to get fired. The seminars were provided by members of our advisory councils. We also published the first edition of Mitchell; a twice yearly magazine that will chronicle the people and activities that make us who we are. The Mitchell Report content was expanded with articles featuring student and campus activities.
In 2016 we added international partners in Chile, Korea, and France. The geographical diversity gives our students the opportunities to experience business and culture in a number of settings. The faculty have also almost completed the actions necessary to replace our current international concentration with a major in international business. We expect to offer the major beginning fall 2017.
In addition to wishing each of you a great holiday season, I want to take a moment and recognize the retirement of one of the people that make us who we are. Marie Bullock will retire from the University in December after spending 27 years with the College. Her efforts as a Budget Analyst (with numerous other activities as assigned) have been an integral part in our growth. The faculty and staff of the College and the University will miss her smile and attitude. We wish her the best.
A final note…the Mitchell College turns 50 in 2017. We plan to spend the year looking back at the people and things that made us who we are and looking forward to the things that will help us become who we want to be. We are looking forward to an exciting year in 2017.