As announced last week, the provost has extended my appointment as dean for a second five-year term, which will run through June 2029. I am humbled by the reappointment and grateful for the provost’s and the College’s support.
I especially want to thank the members of the review committee for their service: Mike Crant (chair), David Arndorfer (student member), Robert Battalio, Jeff Burks, Mary Flannery (Arts & Letters), Shankar Ganesan, Randy Kozel (Law School), Kirsten Martin and Maura Ryan (provost’s representative).
Thanks also to the many of you who took the time to offer helpful, constructive feedback during the review process, including both positive feedback and several challenges. The positive changes in the past four years include the increased strength and size of our faculty, the launch of the doctoral programs in Analytics and Management, the launch of the Business Honors Program, growth in our master’s programs, the increased flexibility in our undergraduate program with new double majors, increased openness of our undergraduate curriculum to non-business majors, enlarged financial resources and improved facilities.
Through these and other accomplishments, I believe we have strongly positioned the College for the future and to better meet the needs of our students, while remaining faithful to the University’s Catholic mission and identity.
I acknowledge that these changes have brought challenges, especially the disruption caused by the transition to the new undergraduate core requirements and the comprehensive reorganization of the graduate programs into the matrix structure. The process of implementing these significant changes was imperfect. I certainly have learned from the mistakes I made along the way and remain committed to working with the faculty and staff most affected by the new Business Core curriculum and to continue reviewing and improving the College’s organizational structure.
I’m excited and hopeful about the future of the College, and fully dedicated to our mission and vision as formulated in the strategic plan that we launched last fall. Looking ahead, we will continue to prioritize the six goals in this strategic plan:
- Elevate the quality and quantity of impactful research with relevance to business and society.
- Provide an unsurpassed educational experience that contributes to the formation and preparation of undergraduate students who will meaningfully contribute to the world.
- Elevate our flagship MBA program while offering a strategic portfolio of specialized graduate programs that are distinctively mission-centric, are market-relevant, leverage faculty strengths and contribute to Mendoza's advancement.
- Develop an innovative curriculum and formative experiences that integrate the business disciplines with the perspective of the human person, preparing students to contribute, cooperate and compete in an ever-changing society.
- Attract, hire, develop and retain a diverse, world-class faculty and staff who advance our mission and extend our vision.
- As a community of students, faculty and staff in pursuit of excellence, cultivate an engaged, caring and inclusive culture informed by the University's Catholic mission.
I am truly thankful to work with such exceptional, engaged colleagues and to be able to continue furthering the mission and vision of the College, in service of the University, to advance the human community through growing the good in business. As always, this is a mission that we fulfill together and I welcome your ideas and insights as we move forward.
In Notre Dame,
Martijn