Ross Dean To Step Down After One Term

The Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan

DEAN CITES ROSS’ ACCOMPLISHMENTS UNDER HER LEADERSHIP

Davis-Blake used her memo to highlight the more positive aspects of her tenure. Under her leadership, she said, the school:

• Created a differentiated and compelling strategy and value proposition via our Mission and Pillars;
• Introduced important curricular and co-curricular innovations in all of our degree programs and launched new degree programs such as the Master of Management to meet evolving marketplace needs. These changes have significantly improved the student experience and increased applications to our academic programs;
• Created innovative, global executive education offerings that have yielded a 70% increase in revenue and a return to the school of nearly $3 million this year;

  Increased our global footprint and more than tripled the number of Ross undergraduates who have a global experience as part of their education. Graduate student participation in global experiences has increased by 40%;

• Strengthened our faculty and doctoral program through hiring 25% of all current tenure-track faculty and improving support for research;
• Restored the School to a healthy financial condition and generated reserves that will allow us to continue to make strategic investments in excellence;
• Launched our capital campaign, for which we have already raised more than $213 million including Steve Ross’ $100 million gift to fully transform our facilities, the $20 million gift to found the Sanger Center, and other significant gifts to be announced in the near future. Our loyal and dedicated alumni have also stepped up to support the campaign at a grassroots level and increased their annual giving by 37%;
• Collaborated with KPF Associates on the design for a state-of-the-art, architecturally unified business school campus that is on schedule for substantial completion just one year from now;
• Generated significant positive global media coverage that now regularly puts us in the top five among all business schools in monthly placements in top tier media outlets; and
• Created a vision for and commitment to a positive work community that includes a more diverse faculty, staff, student body, and administrative leadership.
• “As a result of our hard work over the past four years, the future of the Ross School of Business is bright, Davis-Blake wrote in her memo. “I am proud of the work we have done together to secure the Ross School’s position as one of the best business schools in the world. I look forward to continuing that work with you during my final year as dean. It is a pleasure to work with so many talented and dedicated people at the Ross School. I will always treasure the privilege of participating in this exceptional community.”

  One of her controversial moves as dean was to open an Executive MBA program in Los Angeles at the ultra-swanky Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. The program, priced at a market high $136,000, faced stiff competition from UCLA, the University of Southern California, Pepperdine University and several other competing offerings. UCLA’s Anderson School responded quickly with a new scheduling option for its Fully Employed MBA program (FEMBA).

  The hybrid online and in-class option made it possible for students to attend campus as few as four times each quarter. The in-person class sessions will be scheduled on Saturdays and Sundays at the UCLA Anderson campus, eliminating the need for students to take any time off from work or to hustle to evening classes during the work week. That novel scheduling option became a direct alternative to the EMBA by Ross, which had viewed its once-a-month timetable as a key competitive advantage in the L.A. market.

  DON’T MISS: ROSS: MAKING A SOCIAL IMPACT BEFORE IT WAS COOL