Fall 2012 - Villanova University

81449 536 77 5 2 9 4 80120832Beyond86the NumbersPatrick G. Maggitti, PhD, takes the helm atthe Villanova School of BusinessBy Jennifer SchuIn2001, Patrick G. Maggitti, PhD, made a life-changingdecision. He left a successful career in the steeland mining industries—where he had held roles asCEO and director of national sales—to pursue a PhD.For two years he had juggled a full-time job and academics whileearning an MBA at Johns Hopkins University. Realizing the businesscurriculum resonated with him far more than his undergraduatestudies in chemistry, he stopped by the university’s CareerCenter one day to take a vocational assessment. “In the results,‘college professor’ kept coming up as a potential career,” he recalls.A risk-taker and entrepreneur at heart—he had foundedtwo companies and would continue to run one throughout hisstudies—he took the plunge. Offered a “full ride” to pursue aPhD in Strategic Management at the University of Maryland,“I put everything in my life on hold for three years. I knew itwas what I wanted to do.”It was clearly the right move. Eleven years later, in May 2012,Dr. Maggitti was appointed The Helen and William O’TooleDean of the Villanova School of Business. The announcementwas greeted with enthusiasm by his colleagues across theUniversity, who in the past four years have come to know“Pat” Maggitti for his dedication to facilitating cross-collegecollaboration and interdisciplinary learning.Interdisciplinary approachAs a member of the Villanova faculty since 2008—he arrivedafter successful faculty stints at St. Joseph’s University andTemple University—Dean Maggitti has made it his mission tofoster cross-college learning and embed entrepreneurial thinkingmore deeply in the Villanova culture.He was most recently the Carmen and Sharon DanellaDirector of the Center for Innovation, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship(ICE Center) at VSB, as well as associate professorof Strategic Management. Among the ICE Center’s notableaccomplishments during his tenure was the launch of “MobileDevice Programming,” an award-winning interdisciplinarycourse taught by three professors that brought together computerscience, business and engineering students to prepare themfor careers in the nearly $15 billion mobile application industry.In the works—slated for spring 2013—is an interdisciplinarycourse with the working title “Technology Commercializationin Emerging Markets.” It combines three separate academicunits and challenges students from VSB, the College ofEngineering and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences todevelop creative solutions to real world problems.“Where we can strategically find opportunities to createthese courses, we’ll continue to do so,” Dean Maggitti says.30 Villanova MAGAZINe FALL 2012