No voice will go unheard as the committee for the strategic planning of the McDonough School of Business begins meeting this week.
At the beginning of the semester, MSB Dean George Daly, who was appointed to the position in June, invited business school undergraduates to submit ideas to the committee about the school’s strategic plan.
Kim Malcolm (MSB ‘06) will sit on the committee as the undergraduate representative to discuss a strategic plan drafted by various MSB faculty and advisors.
Committee members will also consider proposals submitted by MSB students.
Dean Daly describes undergraduate inclusion in the development of the MSB’s goals as a gesture symbolic of his desire to leave no perspective overlooked.
“I have found students are pretty informed about their schools and others,” he said. “The undergraduate perspective is an important viewpoint.”
Ken Talanian (MSB ‘06) confirmed that students at Georgetown are interested in how their school compares to others.
“Many of us have friends in other undergraduate business schools that we compare ourselves to,” he said. “Students come into these schools with clear expectations for resources and academics.”
But Daly says quality education, not higher rankings, is the goal of the new strategic plan.
“We must appreciate that undergraduates are preparing for a career, not for a job interview,” Daly said. “We must focus on the experience of the students.”
Jim Marrocco (MSB ‘07) agrees the inclusion of undergraduate opinions is valuable to achieving the MSB’s objectives.
Though he did not formally submit a written summary of his ideas, Marrocco has certain changes he would like to see. “The core classes could be condensed or combined in such a way that MSB students could fit more liberal arts classes into their schedules or specialized business courses within their specific majors,” he said.
Talanian wants to expand the ethics component of the curriculum. “I would like to see an integration of ethics within the business courses so that ethical implications of certain actions are made more evident,” he said.
Daly stressed the importance of finalizing a strategic plan for MSB’s future direction. Because the MSB had no permanent dean for three years, Daly said, drafting a conclusive strategic plan was deferred.
“It is essential to resolve where the MSB is going very early on,” Daly said. He officially begins his term as MSB dean on Nov. 1.
The planning process so far has involved studying the curriculum and programs of business schools throughout the country as well as soliciting ideas from within the MSB.
