Factors shaping the business climate also will continue to affect the academic environment. New technologies have become an essential domain in the curriculum, as well as in the delivery of instruction. Distance and online learning have accelerated the pace of this delivery and expanded the arena of competition for high-quality students and faculty. This competition is global, as business schools everywhere vie with each other and with corporate “colleges” for both. An international, multicultural perspective that appreciates ethnic diversity has become integral to the curriculum. Interdisciplinary approaches to business education and extensions into life-long learning are now commonplace. A growing demand for world-class research that melds theory and practice has led to increased collaboration between academic and business enterprises. At the same time, students are demanding greater value, career focus, relevance and placement assistance from their educational institutions. Our challenge: to understand and embrace the significant changes in this educational environment, garner the resources to create innovative, relevant programs and curricula and foster research and the creation of new knowledge that address and lead these changes.
Our strategic issues
In developing our strategic plan for the next five years, we identified a set of strategic issues which will shape our plan. These issues are identified below.
Diversity: The demographics of our student body, faculty and staff reflect those of our community. We must ensure that we continue to have diversity in those three groups in the future.
