LETTER FROM THE DEAN
CLIFF ALLEN, PH.D., VERGIL MILLER PROFESSOR
With the recent return to campus, faculty is back in the classroom with students – and enjoying the spontaneity of in-person conversations. We are grateful for how far we’ve come this past year and I would like to acknowledge the hard work and achievements that got us where we are.
In another year of working and learning from home, we challenged ourselves to learn and operate differently while remaining connected and engaged with each other. This past year our vision of redefining business and transforming lives kept us agile, and allowed us to continue to serve our students and community. Our approach to serve was flexible, but our work and focus remained the same - Impact, Innovation and Engagement. The progress we made in those areas was exceptional. We:
- Developed new master academic pathways.
- Created low- to no-cost textbook degree pathways in Supply & Logistic Management and Business Technology & Analytics.
- Made strides in diversity, equity and inclusion – Maverix, LGBTQ2SIA Leadership Program; new student space for ATMOS (in process); faculty research on BIPOC student achievement in accounting; Department of Black Studies partnership to offer the course, Black Business Experience, as a business elective.
- Thanks to an incredible seed investment from Tim and Mary Boyle, opened a new Career Center – where we have already met with 200+ students to support each on their career journey; offered 600+ internships; posted 1,000+ jobs for business majors; and partnered with dozens of companies to meet their hiring needs.
- Partnered with Oregon Institute of Technology on curriculum to expand options for students.
- Celebrated the incredible impact of philanthropy at the School of Business, with support from alumni, friends, companies and foundations topping $4 million.
We saw another year in which several faculty members received recognition for their research – five made the list of most cited researchers in the world. And, as the world started to reopen, our faculty and students traveled to other regions of the world to study innovation (in Cuba), engage in business (in Chile and Argentina) and have an impact on society through international competitions (in England).
Our commitment to student success remains integral to all that we do, and we awarded hardship funds to 117 students, while allocating over $357,000 in scholarship support. And to our delight, we were able to celebrate 1,043 School of Business graduates experiencing their hard work paying off with PSU’s first in-person Commencement in two years.
We accomplished a lot and sharing the successes and highlights of the past year would not be possible without the help of so many. Thank you for your support and we are looking forward to sharing all of the future contributions and accomplishments that are waiting to happen in the coming year.