Fall '21 Update from the Dean

Sep 28, 2021 12:00 AM

With the arrival of a new year and amid new renewed hopes for brighter times ahead, we are pleased to release the Fall 2021 / Winter 2022 Newsletter from the College of Business!

The College continued its journey in Fall by responding to persistent pandemic-induced uncertainties – and some of the attendant fiscal consequences - with nimbleness and resolve. Faculty, staff, students, alumni, and members of the Advisory Board worked individually and collectively to advance its vision, as always.

Some highlights follow --

First, on a sad note, the College suffered a major shock with the untimely demise of one of its most talented and dynamic teacher-scholars in Dr. Eyad Youssef early last semester. We mourn his loss as a community and will attempt to honor his legacy with a relentless pursuit of innovation in all that we do as a collegiate entity.

Reputationally, we are gratified to share that our MBA Program has been ranked in fifth place by the Baltimore Business Journal out of all programs offered by both public and private institutions in Maryland, and in the company of some of the State’s flagship institutions.

Programmatically, the College’s drive toward seeking interdisciplinarity in its programmatic growth continued with fervor, with the crafting of an interdisciplinary minor in Diversity Management in partnership with the Sociology department, and another minor in the area of Construction Management being developed in partnership with the Lifecycle Facilities Management Program.

In an ongoing effort to meet the needs of significant populations of working adults, the College has developed four new stackable certificate programs in the areas of: Crisis Leadership, Diversity Leadership, Human Resources and Telework Management, and Social Entrepreneurship. These programs await internal and external approvals. Likewise, new courses in the some of the topical areas of negotiation, health and wellness, business analytics, e-commerce, and the like are also being offered in Spring ’22.

Toward student engagement and spreading new understandings of entrepreneurship and personal growth as well as adapting to the realities of telework, College faculty spearheaded two invited talks that were widely attended and appreciated. We will continue to offer new and impactful programming in the service of our students and the broader community. Another exemplar of engagement is the spirited new effort of Frostburg alumni to partner with us in mentoring current students and the launch of an Alumni Mentoring Program.

On a bittersweet note, the College bid a heartfelt goodbye to two of its longtime stalwart faculty leaders, Dr. William Anderson and Dr. David Kiriazis, both professors of Economics, with their retirement at the end of December ’21. We thank them for their distinguished service at every level of the institution and wish them new joys and new successes as they embark on the next phase of their lives. We also eagerly await bringing in new faculty in the areas of Accounting, Economics, and Marketing disciplines with search processes underway.

These are times of immense uncertainty and change. As the College continues to embrace change in its march forward, we remain inspired by the indelible words of Charles Darwin: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.”

In closing, we thank all friends of the College of Business for the unwavering contribution of their time, treasure, and talent in helping the College advance to be all that it can be – in its service to its students, its faculty and staff, to the institution at large, and to the wider community.

With warmest regards,
Dr. Sudhir Singh
Dean, College of Business