By: Alex Willis
The W. Fielding Rubel School of Business is making changes in the upcoming months, including getting a new dean and a couple of faculty retirements.
Dr. Julie Toner, professor of marketing and Dr. Myra McCrickard, professor of economics, are both retiring. So students can expect to see some new faces teaching business classes.
As for a new dean, no official decision has been made. It’s a lengthy process, where a search committee narrows down the best suited candidate.
The dean search started a few months ago. “Advertisements were carefully written and posted in the fall,” said Dr. Frank Raymond, the interim dean. He briefly described the process as, “It is a national search. Those interested send requested documents which are reviewed by a committee representing the Rubel School and various other areas of the university closely tied to RSB (Rubel School of Business).”
Raymond also explained how the search committee is decided.
“Ultimately the President decides the make-up of the committee with input from her senior advisors, especially the Provost,” said Raymond.
Dr. Toner, who has been with BU since 1999, has seen the business school change and grow. She’s experienced different deans throughout the years and she valued qualities of previous deans who exhibited fairness and allowed faculty to have a voice.
“I think the next dean needs to be someone who is a good leader,” said Toner.
For the new dean, Toner believes they should have “a background with academia and experience with business.” She thinks it could be difficult to find a candidate that has experience with both, but it is important to get a dean that recognizes both sides. Toner said it will be beneficial for the faculty, students and the business school overall.
Dr. Raymond said the right dean could bring in good business connections and therefore bring in good sources of fundraising. This could overall impact the school by being able to grow programs and invest in the needs of the students.
“I hope to see a marketing program,” said Dr. Raymond.
Dr. Toner agrees that the addition of a marketing program could benefit students who want careers in advertising and social media. But as a small school, Bellarmine faces challenges of not having as many resources as larger schools, especially needed to introduce new programs. Toner said new programs need enough faculty to run it and money to implement them.
With technology influencing the job market and affecting what jobs are in demand, students want programs to reflect that.
“It would be good to pick up a data analytic major and to incorporate more IT/computer courses,” said Colton Acuff, a sophomore accounting and finance major.
It’s unclear when the possible candidates will start visiting campus. But Dr. Raymond says if the right candidate is found they could start before the next academic year. Until a dean is decided, there is no way of knowing exactly what changes will be seen throughout the business school.