Dear Fellow Deans,

Greetings from Garden City, New York!

We are enjoying our midsemester spring break, a short yet welcome respite from the frenetic pace that characterizes the semester’s progress! I share here a few stories of how what we do supports the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation pillars of impact, engagement and innovation. I invite you to share your comments.

Regards,



Rajib Sanyal, Ph.D.

Dean

IMPACT— International Connections Grow

The newest node in our global network is Amity University, one of the largest private institutions of higher learning in India. Starting this fall, we will welcome students from Amity into our Global M.B.A. program, which is located in our Manhattan Center in New York City. This relationship is further evidence of our attraction for students from all over the world. Today, nearly 40 percent of the students in the Robert B. Willumstad School of Business hail from foreign countries.

ENGAGEMENT—Big Data and Its Application

Insights on how data analytics is changing and disrupting business operations were offered at a program organized by the Willumstad School’s Elizabeth and Allen Don Center for Innovative Technology and Decision Sciences. Panelists at the event, Achieving Business Impact With Data Analytics: Opportunities and Challenges, included  Deborah Viola ’84, Ph.D. , vice president, data management and analytics, Westchester Medical Center Health Network;  Deborah Friedman ’07, M.B.A. ’10 , people analytics lead, Deloitte;  Michael Hurley ’06, M.B.A. ’09 , senior strategic account manager, App Annie; and  Barbara Porter , chief technology officer, FragranceNet.com. The discussion was moderated by  Susan Li, Ph.D. , professor of decision sciences and marketing.   

INNOVATION—The Human Connection

Today, many of us are in a perennial bowing stature, head down, poring over our smartphones and watches, oblivious to the world around us.  Judy Greiner , an administrative assistant in the Willumstad School, created the #HeadsUpAdelphi challenge, exhorting students, faculty and staff to pledge to stay off their cell phones for one hour per day and make a human connection instead. After pledging, they are urged to challenge friends at schools around the world to do the same. Pledgees hold an “I UNPLUG TO…” sign and tag @headsupadelphi on Instagram. I invite you to participate!