Dean's Message: August 2024

Dear Insiders,

I hope everyone has enjoyed a wonderful summer. It has been a productive season here at the Schmidthorst College of Business!

Celebrating a Milestone Commencement

This August, we celebrated the graduation of our largest cohort yet, with 85% of the 11 Doctorate of Organizational Development and Change students graduating at a single commencement ceremony. We also honored the achievements of 41 Master of Accountancy, 3 Master of Arts in Financial Economics, 2 Master of Science in Applied Statistics, 86 MBA, and 58 Bachelor of Science in Business Administration graduates. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all our graduates for their hard work and dedication!

Online MBA Program

We are also proud to share the continued success of our Online MBA program. This summer, The Princeton Review ranked the Schmidthorst College of Business Online MBA as the best in Ohio and one of the top in the nation for 2024. Recognized for providing a flexible and comprehensive education, our program ranks No. 1 in Ohio, 8 in the Midwest, and 38 nationally. Additionally, earlier this year, Fortune ranked our Online MBA program No. 2 among Ohio public universities and No. 9 in the Midwest. US News & World Report honored us as one of the top in Ohio and the country. Poets&Quants also ranked BGSU No. 1 in Ohio and No. 33 nationally, acknowledging our commitment to rigorous academic standards, student experience, and employment outcomes.  These honors underscore our Online MBA faculty and staff's dedication to providing learners with a quality, student-centered education.  We continue to enhance the student experience for our online MBA students through a new pilot career coaching model with our executive-in-residence, Mr. Miguel Alvarez, founding partner at Intuitiva Inversiones SAS and past President of Americas for O-I.

Welcoming Our Largest Incoming Class and Celebrating High Retention Rates

We are thrilled to announce that our incoming class is our largest yet, a testament to the growing popularity of our programs. This summer, we welcomed 552 enthusiastic first-time freshmen into the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration program, along with 46 motivated transfer students. Additionally, 58 students have joined our Pre-Business pathway, resulting in a remarkable increase of 121 students (over 25% year-over-year) in our incoming class. Our retention rates continue to shine, surpassing the BGSU average by nearly 5%, with 86.9% of the 2023 cohort returning this fall. Our online MBA and full-time master's programs remain robust, and we are ecstatic to welcome the largest cohort ever, with 21 students, to our Doctorate in Organizational Development and Change program this fall.

Developments in Career Design and Student Engagement

As we continue integrating Life Design into our curriculum, particularly within the first-year experience, we collaborate closely with the Kuhlin Hub for Career Design and Connections. We aim to enhance career mentoring and prototyping opportunities, including bringing in class speakers, organizing coffee chats with alums, and arranging company visits. These initiatives are designed to help students understand and explore the vast array of careers in business disciplines. We are excited to announce that we have joined the Ohio CPA as a university academic partner.  In addition to their support in mentoring our current students, through this collaboration, we will host a career exploration day this fall for high school students interested in accounting. We are also excited to share that students are organizing a chapter of SHRM on the BGSU campus, and 40 students are already engaged in the group for this fall.  Alum involvement is crucial to the success of these programs, and we invite you to participate in these activities, share your experiences, and inspire our students.

Incoming Faculty 

In response to our growing programs, we are delighted to introduce several new faculty members in this newsletter. Each brings unique skills, professional experiences, and a deep passion for serving our students and the BGSU community. We eagerly anticipate the innovations they will get to our classrooms and co-curricular activities.

Student Ambassador Initiatives

Our student ambassadors have worked hard over the summer, collaborating with peer leaders to plan onboarding support for new students, organizing the welcome-back picnic with the Dean and student organization fair, and preparing for homecoming. They have also been instrumental in designing and launching a new national professional development conference for business student ambassadors. BGSU is proud to lead and host the inaugural conference this October, where student leaders from AACSB schools nationwide will gather to share best practices.

Thank you for your continued support. Your dedication and generosity, as well as the success of our students and programs, are a testament to the strength of our community. We are excited to share these milestones with you and look forward to your continued involvement in our journey of excellence.

Warm regards,