We are in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Industrial age assumptions about how businesses should operate are being questioned and, in some cases, overturned. AI presents unprecedented opportunity, uncertainty, and risk. 

Our students will be leaders in the age of AI, and we are called to ensure that they are a force for good. Our job is to equip them with the tools to generate value and to do so as ethical leaders – consistent with the mission and unique perspective that only a Notre Dame education can offer.

As the new senior associate dean for Academic Programs, I am responsible for all of our degree programs. A key focus will be to ensure that we are preparing students in a way that fully embraces the current business landscape. We want to preserve what our programs do well while looking for ways to enhance student experiences. 

Thank goodness that Gianna Bern, associate dean for the Notre Dame MBA, and Kristen Collett-Schmitt, associate dean for Undergraduate Studies and the Specialized Master’s Programs, have agreed to work with me to ensure that our programs remain top-notch and that we enhance them in ways aligned with our mission in the age of AI. Gianna and Kristen are the right people to lead, preserve, and innovate our programs.

One of our primary strategic goals is to elevate the MBA program. The competition among top MBA programs is fierce but the Notre Dame MBA has some clear and valuable distinctions that we will lift up and promote in the coming year. We also must maintain excellence across all of our programs. For this, we need your help. We will be asking faculty and staff to help us to innovate across the College to be sure we deliver programs worthy of Notre Dame. The effort includes a strategic, intentional integration of AI and ethical leadership across our student experiences.  

It’s critical that our programs remain market-focused. As part of my new role, I plan to work closely with industry partners to understand their needs and to be sure our programs are aligned with their hiring expectations – and also to encourage them to recruit our students and send their employees to Mendoza. These partners will help to inform our strategy, which will ensure that the specific ways that we prepare students to become ethical leaders in the age of AI will resonate and be valuable to their organizations.

In the next year, you can expect to see a clear strategy for our MBA program. Ryan Retartha, senior director of Strategy and Planning, Marnie Stahl, strategy advisor, Gianna, and I will be working with Notre Dame Institutional Research, Innovation, & Strategy (IRIS) and Mendoza leadership team to develop a short- and long-term strategy for the program. IRIS may seek to interview you as part of this initiative. I strongly urge you to be forthcoming and direct. 

I am open to all thoughts and ideas. Please let me know if you ever want to chat!

In Notre Dame, 

Nick

Nick Berente
Senior Associate Dean for Academic Programs
Professor of IT, Analytics, and Operations
Mendoza College of Business