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On Sept. 1, Syracuse University Provost Gretchen Ritter announced the launch of a search committee to find the Whitman School of Management’s next dean.

Eugene Anderson, the former dean, left SU to join University of Pittsburgh’s Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business and College of Business Administration in late May.

Maria Minniti, the director of the Institute for an Entrepreneurial Society, and S.P. Raj, the master’s in marketing program director, will lead the 15-person committee of professors, department chairs and university executives including David Van Slyke, dean of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, and Steven Barnes, chair of the Board of Trustees.

Ritter was thankful for the committee’s members, adding in the release that she looks forward to finding out who the committee will put forward for the position.

“The school is poised for continued growth and will no doubt attract a competitive slate of dean candidates given how attractive the role is among higher education influencers,” Ritter wrote.

While some of the appointed members have sat on similar committees before, Julia Niederhoff, an associate professor of supply chain management at Whitman, said it’s her first time sitting on a high-level search committee.

Niederhoff said she will be looking toward more senior members of the committee who have done similar work in the past, but she does think Whitman’s next dean should have clear values.

“(I’m looking for a dean) who has a clear vision and appreciation for what we already have and ideas for what would be short-term and long-term goals for our organization,” she said.

Van Slyke, one of the most senior members on the committee, also has clear objectives for what Whitman’s next dean should emphasize.

“I’m honored to serve on this committee and excited to participate with my Whitman colleagues in selecting a Dean that has a vision for the many positive opportunities to collaborate with other Schools and Colleges at SU in developing innovative programs and partnerships focused on academic excellence,” Van Slyke wrote in an email to The Daily Orange.

In his parting message to Whitman, Anderson said that one of the college’s most important distinctions is the opportunity it can create for students. He specifically cited that 90% of graduates find “promising jobs” within just a few months of graduation.

Niederhoff also emphasized post-college life for her upcoming search. The new dean needs to think about where students are going after they leave campus and the connections students can make at the school and stay on the “cutting edge,” she said.

“(I’m looking for) somebody with appreciation for the changing needs of our students and industry so that we make sure we’re doing the best we can to prepare our students,” she said.

Two Whitman students, undergraduate Mary-Katheryn Egger and graduate Yi Huang, sit on the committee. In an email to The D.O., Egger said she is excited to serve on the committee and work with so many “admirable” Syracuse University community members.

The announcement of Anderson’s departure highlighted the former dean’s work regarding diversity within Whitman. During his time at the school, he launched new courses in diversity and inclusion and hired new full-time faculty with research interest in organizational diversity, the release read.

Heading into the search for the school’s new dean, Niederhoff said the group will put a similar focus on diversity.

“Recognizing the diversity of our student body and the diversity of the workforce is something that we’re very much aware of,” Niederhoff said. “We want to make sure that anybody who is guiding our organization has a great appreciation for the role and importance of all kinds of diversity both within the school and within the opportunities of our students.”

Published on September 5, 2022 at 9:34 pm

Contact Kyle: kschouin@syr.edu | @Kyle_Chouinard