Michigan Tech is not the biggest school around. Houghton is not a major city. And the Academic Office Building is not a sprawling structure. But size isn’t what you need to make the biggest impact.
In this issue we see the benefits of being hands-on in education and having professors and students who work side-by-side. The world of business is about relationships, and we work hard in the School of Business and Economics to demonstrate that to our students every day.
Students present and future can look at alumni Jillian Rothe and David Kneisler and see where their hard work has taken them. Jillian’s career with Caterpillar has her calling Singapore home, while David has, as an executive and corporate leader, climbed the ladder of success at Dana Holding Corporation. For both, it’s the combination of a STEM education with a solid foundation of business fundamentals and principles—formed in classrooms and boardrooms—that has them spanning the globe.
Kwang Suthijindawong and Ben Stelzer, two of our student-athletes, demonstrate the value of staying balanced and engaged in the experiential opportunities provided by the School. Roger Woods, senior lecturer in operations management, takes us on the business tour he provides students, from the heart of Silicon Valley to the hardwood of the NCAA Tournament floor. In addition, Dallas Bond shows us some of his travels, a bit of the world he occupied while studying abroad.
In our previous issue, we quoted JFK’s law of life...that change is inevitable and while it’s important to look back, it is vital to always look to the future. And so it is in the School of Business and Economics. In January 2016, I will retire as Dean. It has been both an honor and a privilege to be in this position, and I will be forever appreciative for the opportunity.
We’ve worked very hard to develop a transition plan that will effectively manage this change. In this regard the provost, after an internal review process, appointed Dean Johnson, the James and Dolores Trethewey APMP Professor of Finance, and current assistant dean, to be interim dean upon my retirement. I know the important work faculty and students are doing in the School will continue to expand and strengthen under Dean’s leadership—please reach out to him with your assistance and good wishes.
Like you, I will look forward to seeing the many innovative and positive ways the School and its students will impact the future.
Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.
