Dean's Message - August 2023

We have spent this summer completing our self-reflection for our AACSB re-accreditation process. Through this process, we had the opportunity to reflect on the past five years and envision the future for the Schmidthorst College of Business. This summer, we celebrated 169 students from the College as they graduated in the summer commencement ceremony, including our 400th online MBA graduate. We are also excited to welcome our seven new faculty members. Their presence enriches our college, and we are grateful to have each of them – Welcome to the BGSU and Schmidthorst family!

Dr. Hanan Alhaddi – Introduction to Business, Assistant Teaching Professor, Marketing
Ms. Patricia Chambers – Business Communications, Assistant Teaching Professor, Marketing
Dr. Jennifer Lawson –Ethics and Corporate Responsibility, Assistant Teaching Professor, Marketing
Dr. Lauren Matkaluk – Accounting, Assistant Professor
Dr. William Reed – Business Capstone, Assistant Teaching Professor, Management
Dr. Gabriela Sava – Business Analytics, Assistant Professor, Applied Statistics and OR
Dr. Seong Kyoung Shin – Digital Marketing, Assistant Professor, Marketing

As we prepare to embark on this next academic year, I am filled with enthusiasm and pride for all that our Schmidthorst community has achieved and the prospects that lie ahead. Our college continues to be a hub of transformative education, bold leadership, and unlimited opportunities. I want to take this opportunity to extend our heartfelt gratitude to our dedicated faculty and staff members who continue to inspire and guide our students. Your unwavering commitment to excellence makes the Schmidthorst College of Business a place where dreams are nurtured and transformed into reality.

We are delighted to welcome our incoming freshmen, transfer students and new graduate students who are joining us this fall. This fall, we are on track to welcome one of the largest incoming classes ever to the Schmidthorst College of Business.  As of Aug. 1, we have 448 committed first year freshmen, an additional 40 first year freshmen in our new pre-business pathway and 35 transfer students.  This will be our most diverse cohort ever with over a 7% increase in the percentage of women in the cohort and almost doubling the percentage of underrepresented minorities from previous cohorts to over 18%.  First Generation college students continue to represent over 40% of the cohort.  Our on campus and online MBA programs continue to have strong demand and our MAcc program has also seen significant growth in its cohort size over last year.  We can’t wait to see everyone in the Maurer Center sharing their experiences with one another!

This fall, we are excited to introduce several new initiatives that will further enrich the educational experiences of our students. In August, in partnership with the Kuhlin Hub for Career Design and Connections, we will welcome our first career coach, Ms. Rachel Froman to the College. Rachel will provide career coaching to our students from the Maurer Center, helping to re-invigorate the career accelerator and prepare our students for their first internships through their first positions after graduation. Through collaborations with multiple internal partners, we will also be integrating the opportunity for our sophomore students to become Microsoft Excel certified. We are also working on new graduate programs and certificates for working professionals to extend the impact and support our graduates throughout their careers. Finally, this fall we will complete our re-accreditation process, sharing the outstanding work and community of student support we have continued to develop in the College.

For even more on what we’ve been up to this summer and other news, please see my full report below.

Our alumni are also an integral part of our Schmidthorst success story. We are grateful for your continued engagement and support. We are excited to share that through the support from the Paul J. Hooker Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and alumni Mike McDaniel, we will host a session for students, faculty, and staff to learn about the multiple forms of artificial intelligence and how it will disrupt business. We are also working with other alumni to share their career journeys to inspire our students and help them to explore new opportunities. If you are interested in getting more involved or collaborating with the College, please reach out to me.

We hope you will join us this fall for BGSU’s Homecoming, Sept. 21-24 where we will celebrate with some new events and honor old traditions, including the 100-year anniversary of the BGSU Bands.  As always, the event will provide great opportunities to reconnect with friends and make new ones.

Here's to a fantastic fall semester filled with growth, innovation and building connections.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jennifer Percival
Dean, Schmidthorst College of Business