Tippie Magazine (Summer 2021) - Tippie College of Business

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You were nominated to become interim dean in the fall of 2019 and officially took the position in March 2020. Not to put too fine a point on it, but a few things changed in those months. What did it feel like to be in your shoes when you took the helm? AKB I had been shadowing former dean Sarah Fisher Gardial in January and February, and I stepped into the interim role March 1. By March 13, we had closed everything on campus. There wasn’t much time to think about the enormity of what was going on. There were just decisions that had to be made. Crisis leadership requires you to move quickly. One thing that was helpful was I already knew the college. We could make decisions about expanding programs and going directly to donors to ask for support. There was a clarity of focus. Everyone started pulling in the same direction. At the same time, I knew the faculty and staff really well. I was hearing from people, and I knew the anxiety was building. I also knew the resources we had to draw on. I empathized with them: we were going through this together. Our leadership team would help them get through it. That’s what we’re here for. Can you give examples of key decisions you made during those early days of the pandemic? AKB There were three big ones. First, we worked to equip our faculty with what they needed to teach online. Some of them literally had to make the switch overnight. The Stead Technology Services Group was instrumental in quickly equipping READ BETWEEN THE LINES (2) Tippie partnered with the University of Iowa Center for Advancement and raised $116,000 IN THREE WEEKS to support student grants and scholarships. REFERENCE “ During the search process for a new dean, I remember thinking: we were searching for what we already had.” YVETTE TAYLOR (MBA92), Tippie Advisory Board member DYK? AKB and her husband recently purchased an RV from Iowabased Winnebago. Look for them on the road this summer! faculty to teach online. We had access to the University of Iowa Center for Teaching, but we also found 40 faculty members who were willing to mentor others on online teaching. We came out of the gate so quickly because of that. Second, we got resources out to students. We made sure that students got the technology they needed. We also worked on getting financial support to students— particularly for first-generation and underrepresented minority students who weren’t sure if they would be able to come back without it. (2) Third, our Online MBA, which we had launched in the fall of 2019, was staffed to support 40 students. We worried that we might lose 20 percent of our undergraduate enrollment in the fall, or we might lose funding if the state budget collapsed. We dropped our GMAT requirement and waived application fees. We got more than four times as many applicants as normal and we ended up admitting 160 students in the summer. The quality of this group was incredible: by undergraduate GPA, we had one of the most qualified classes ever. What were some of the lessons of this crisis? AKB I would highlight the importance of a dedicated team. We have a tremendous group who understood the fundamentals of the college and what we could do to support each other and our students. That includes Senior Associate Dean Barry Thomas, Associate Dean for Research and Ph.D. Programs Nick Street, Associate Dean for Graduate Programs Jennifer Blackhurst, and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs Ken Brown. [In July, Brown is returning to faculty in the management and entrepreneurship department.] 12 TIPPIE MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021
2 3 We’ve also got top-notch department executive officers and incredible executive staff: Chief Operations Officer Jim Chaffee, Chief Financial Officer Linda McNiel, Executive Director of Communication and Alumni Relations Barb Thomas, Executive Director of Marketing and Recruiting Ali Yildirim, and Senior Human Resources Director Sharon Beck. 1 4 5 This group of staff, together with our associate deans, provided the guiding wisdom for all decisions that were made during COVID, as well as the strategic planning we’ve been working on since the summer of 2020. the DEDICATED TEAM 6 7 In addition, faculty chipped in to mentor one another. With staff, we were able to move people around within the college to areas that needed assistance. We didn’t have any furloughs; we didn’t lay anyone off. 8 9 10 I just can’t say enough about the quality of leadership on the team and the caliber of people in the college. They’ve all stepped up for one another. You mentioned Ken Brown... He’s also your husband! You don’t see that every day. 11 12 13 AKB He and I both came to Iowa to start our careers together and have built a wonderful life here. He is an accomplished academic and has been associate dean of the undergraduate program for seven years. 14 15 I firmly believe that there are few places in the world where we both could have carved out distinct and successful career paths like we have here. In so many places one spouse has to sacrifice their career for the other. Tippie never made us do that. who'’s who? 1 Sharon Beck 2 Barry Thomas 3 Barb Thomas 4 Ali Yildirim 5 Linda McNiel 6 D.J. Nayakankuppam, Henry B. Tippie Research Fellow and chair of the Department of Marketing 7 Jim Chaffee 8 Ann Melissa Campbell, Henry B. Tippie Research Professor of Business Analytics and chair of the Department of Business Analytics 9 Jen Blackhurst 10 Nick Street 11 Ken Brown 12 Tom Rietz, Soumyo Sarkar Professor of Finance and chair of the Department of Finance 13 Amy Colbert, Leonard A. Hadley Chair in Leadership and chair of the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship 14 David Hensley, Executive Director of the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center 15 Cristi Gleason, Carlson KPMG Professor of Accounting and chair of the Department of Accounting 13
Page 1 and 2: TIPPIE SUMMER 2021 magazine IN THIS
Page 3 and 4: 4 6 16 24 FEATURES 4 Black and Gold
Page 5 and 6: 1st PLACE finish The Henry Fund was
Page 7 and 8: BLACK AND GOLD MONEYBALL BY TOM SNE
Page 9 and 10: THREE RESOURCES FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Page 11 and 12: Q EEAN CRAWFORD Associate Professor
Page 13: She cut her teeth in Tippie’s top
Page 17 and 18: As we move past the most acute phas
Page 19 and 20: If you’ve spent time in the Midwe
Page 21 and 22: CONNECT WITH US @TippieIowa TippieI
Page 23 and 24: 1980s Andrew Temte (MA91/ PhD95) ha
Page 25 and 26: in MEMORIAM Harris J. Frank June 15
Page 27 and 28: Tippie Magazine is published semian

Tippie Magazine (Summer 2021) - Tippie College of Business

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