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Gallup recruiter Susan
Shald, second from
right, meets Thunderbird
students Oct. 25, 2012,
during the Career Fair.
Thunderbird President
Larry Edward Penley has
identifi ed employers as
the school’s top customer.
(KRISTEN JARCHOW)
THUNDERBIRD MYSTIQUE
Thunderbird first caught Penley’s attention
during these years in Arizona and Colorado.
“I’ve known and admired this campus for
more than 25 years,” Penley says. “Thunderbird
was the model of global business, and
Thunderbird remains the model of global
business — even as other schools have focused
more and more on international business.”
He says he heard reports of the Thunderbird
mystique as an outsider, and he thought he
understood the concept. But his understanding
deepened when Interim Thunderbird
President Barbara Barrett invited him to join
her transition team as interim provost in April
2012.
“I always thought I knew what the Thunderbird
mystique was,” Penley says. “But not until
I interacted with the students and alumni
did I realize what it was all about.”
APPETITE FOR RISK
Penley says Thunderbird will stay true to its
core values in the 21st century, but the school
must develop a bias for action to keep pace
with global business.
“A bias for action means we have to be willing
to change,” he says. “We need to be aggressive
about change. We need to be constantly
monitoring where business is headed, what
employers need, and what recruiters are asking
for in terms of knowledge and skills.”
He says Thunderbird’s Board of Trustees
understands this mindset which guided the
process as the school explored a partnership
with Laureate Education Inc. He says the announcement
that followed on March 18,
2013, shows the school’s willingness to adapt
and thrive in a competitive environment (details
on page 4).
“Change is always a risk,” Penley says. “But
a leader cannot get complacent or rest when
others are chasing to catch up.”
Penley has trained himself to moderate risk
by focusing on market research. He uses survey
data and focus groups like he uses his map
and compass in the wilderness.
“Rarely do I approach a problem that I don’t
start with the market and where it is headed,”
24 spring 2013