4 | INNOVISION MAGAZINE LETTER FROM THE DEAN This fall marks our first semester in the newly renovated de Francesco building and we are thrilled with our new spaces. Students are very happy with the new gathering spaces that are now in place, and the study rooms are well-utilized. Thanks to a generous donation by the Beebe family, we now have a first-class boardroom that is the most impressive meeting space on campus. In these pages, you will get a glimpse of our building. For an even better perspective, please come visit us! We have had some recent changes in the Dean’s Office staff. Dr. Jeff Wehrung, our Associate Dean, departed in August to return to doing what he loves most- teaching. On a temporary basis, Dr. Dina Hayduk has joined the team as Assistant Dean for Student Success. We are fortunate to have persuaded her to come out of her short retirement from KU to support us in this way. She brings a wealth of experience in helping students as a faculty member and summer orientation advisor. Our MBA program has seen an impressive growth in enrollment in the year following the launch of our revised program in fall 2022. The program is based on a stackable certificate model and incorporates course offerings in 7.5-week, 15-week, hybrid, and online courses, making the program more flexible and attractive. Kudos to the faculty, admissions, and marketing staff members who contributed to this making the program successful! The Department of Business Administration had its inaugural Sustainability Summit in November and there were impressive panelists from industry who talked about the importance of sustainability to their respective business models, as well as panelists from local government and advocacy groups who described their efforts in advancing sustainability in their communities. I want to thank Dr. Gary Chao for organizing this event, as well as Dr. Muractan Erkul, who also provided support for it. You can learn more about this event in this issue. Most importantly, as you peruse this edition of InnoVision you will find stories highlighting our students and alumni who inspire us to carry on our mission of developing young professionals! Dr. Anne Carroll Dean, College of Business
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