B-School Bulletin: Cornell Kept Dean's Departure Quiet

The Cornell College of Business (CCB) leadership team (from left): Mark Nelson, dean of Johnson (JGSM), Kate Walsh, interim dean of Hotel Administration (SHA), Soumitra Dutta, dean of Business (CCB), Edward McLaughlin, interim dean of Applied Economics and Management (AEM). Cornell photo

Cornell Kept Business College Dean’s Impending Resignation Secret From Top Administrators

News from Cornell University Johnson Graduate School of Management (via the Cornell Daily Sun)

“Cornell University so carefully and closely guarded the impending resignation of its business college dean last week that it kept even the college’s own top administrators in the dark.

“Kate Walsh, dean of the School of Hotel Administration, said in a closed-door meeting with several dozen faculty members late Monday afternoon that she learned of former dean Soumitra Dutta’s abrupt resignation only when Cornell’s provost publicly announced the change in an email to business college employees and students last week.

“Walsh’s comments in the private faculty meeting — related by a person in the room who spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of retaliation by the University — show that even while Cornell planned the resignation of the SC Johnson College of Business’s chief for at least a day, it kept top administrators within the college clueless.”

Is Kim Jong-Un Crazy? And Other FAQs On North Korea

News from INSEAD

“Every year, the World Economic Forum publishes its Global Risks Report, based on a wide survey of experts and decision makers. From 2008 to 2014, respondents identified a financial catastrophe as the world’s top risk. Last year however, weapons of mass destruction came first. Ditto for the 2018 survey edition, published last month, which revealed that nearly 80% of respondents see a growing threat of war involving major powers.

“Given these worries among the elite, it is perhaps unsurprising that I am often met with a barrage of questions when people learn about my upcoming negotiation case study on the North Korea conflict.

“For business negotiators, studying international conflicts is of great interest. After all, such conflicts are nothing but a really high-stakes application of the same negotiation toolbox (and associated pitfalls) that we use in business. In light of this, I’d like to address the four most common questions I’m asked about North Korea, which can help us understand the depth and complexity of the issue.”

New Cryptocurrencies, Same Old Problems

News from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management

“Recently there has been an explosion of global interest in blockchain, the distributed ledger technology at the heart of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Proponents see blockchain’s impact eventually stretching beyond Bitcoin to real estate and supply chains. But most of the current hype is in finance and banking, with some predicting this new method of transferring and recording assets will “democratize” the industry.

“And theoretically, it could. The public ledger system pioneered by cryptocurrencies — decentralized, transparent, and accessible to anyone — is designed to empower individuals who would otherwise be at the mercy of large banks and central governments.

“But is that the direction blockchain is heading?”

The Housing Meltdown Would Have Been Far Worse Without California’s Anti-Foreclosure Laws

News from UCLA Anderson School of Management

“The subprime mortgage crisis that broke out a decade ago is widely recalled as an uncontrolled and destructive plunge in housing prices. New research suggests, however, that at least one effort to halt the plunge was in fact quite effective. UCLA Anderson’s Stuart Gabriel, the Federal Reserve Board’s Matteo Iacoviello and Copenhagen Business School’s Chandler Lutz found that California’s 2008 anti-foreclosure law prevented the loss of some $470 billion in home value wealth.

“The California law, examined against other anti-foreclosure efforts, stands as a potential model for future housing crisis interventions. The researchers found that the passage and implementation of the California Foreclosure Prevention Laws (CFPLs) simply and effectively made foreclosures more difficult and more expensive for lenders to initiate, slowing what could have been a more calamitous spiral in housing prices.”

Global Team Wins $15 Million To Help End Preventable Newborn Deaths In Africa

News from Northwestern Kellogg

“A multidisciplinary global team including two Northwestern University professors has won a $15 million grant to improve the survival of newborns in Africa.

“A collaboration of Rice University, Northwestern University, the University of Malawi, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and 3rd Stone Design, NEST360° was among four finalists in the MacArthur Foundation’s inaugural 100&Change competition, which received 1,904 total proposals.

“The NEST (Newborn Essential Solutions and Technologies) project aims to address a lack of life-saving resources for newborns in African hospitals by creating a package of rugged technologies for newborn care, improving access, developing new distribution systems and educating clinicians and innovators in newborn health. Twelve of the 17 NEST technologies have already been created or are in clinical testing, and five additional technologies have prototypes.”