On this episode of Deans Counsel, Jim Ellis and Ken Kring speak with Blair Sheppard, Special Advisor to Duke Kunshan University, and previously Dean of Duke's Fuqua School of Business. Blair is responsible for directing all of Duke Kunshan's fundraising, corporate development, non-degree program development and regional development for the newly formed campus in China.

From 2012-2024, Blair served as Global Leader for Strategy and Leadership at PwC, where he focused on building resilient strategies and leadership for PwC worldwide, and further sharpened his ability to see further into the future than most of the rest of us.

In this episode, we hear very compelling observations from Blair about four key mega-trends -- climate, technology, global forces and aging -- that he feels will fundamentally reshape every aspect of society (including business, of course).

With us, he shares some insight into how business schools, through their research and teaching, must soon lean into these abrupt changes in societal needs. In so doing, he also lends advice as to how we as leaders should go about the change process of taking faculty through this difficult process, touching on topics such as:

- Why some long-held assumptions are no longer holding

- Our rapidly changing world's impact on curriculum

- Rethinking the teaching of strategy

- How Ai will shape demand for the MBA

Learn more about Blair Sheppard

Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note.

Thanks for listening.

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Produced by Joel Davis at Analog Digital Arts

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DEANS COUNSEL: A podcast for deans and academic leadership.

James Ellis | Moderator | Dean of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (2007-2019)

David Ikenberry | Moderator | Dean of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado-Boulder (2011-2016)

Ken Kring | Moderator | Co-Managing Director, Global Education Practice and Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry

DeansCounsel.com

On this episode of Deans Counsel, Jim Ellis and Ken Kring speak with Gerry Sanders, Dean of UNLV's Lee Business School. In perhaps our most riveting discussion to date, Gerry walks us through his experience during an active shooter incident targeting Lee, and the confusing aftermath.

In addition to feeling firsthand the myriad emotions that arise during and in the wake of this all-too-common, uniquely American occurrence, Gerry received a crash course in university-level crisis communications -- a complicated experience full of hard-earned lessons to say the least.

You'll come away from this episode with some fascinating and instructive insights, including:

•some basic protocols to have in place in the event that the unthinkable comes to your campus

•addressing the need (and prioritizing the response) for information coming from multiple sources (campus, media, personal)

•the cultural shifts that take place following a traumatic event

•managing the communication conflicts between campus and the public

Learn more about Gerry Sanders

Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note at feedback@deanscounsel.com

Thanks for listening.

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Produced by Joel Davis at Analog Digital Arts

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DEANS COUNSEL: A podcast for deans and academic leadership.

James Ellis | Moderator | Dean of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (2007-2019)

David Ikenberry | Moderator | Dean of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado-Boulder (2011-2016)

Ken Kring | Moderator | Co-Managing Director, Global Education Practice and Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry

DeansCounsel.com

On this episode of Deans Counsel, we've got all three of our moderators -- Jim Ellis, Dave Ikenberry, and Ken Kring -- onboard to speak with Umaimah Mendhro, Founder and President of One League, an organization empowering highly promising, underserved changemakers to realize global impact. Partnering with Stanford, Harvard and MIT as well as global industry leaders, One League is focused on bringing world class education to a highly engaged and academically accomplished set of students who, because of location and economic or social status, are unable to access top graduate-level business education.

Less than 3% of the students at top schools come from the bottom income quartile. As such, tremendous talent is left behind. By making graduate-level education accessible to these typically marginalized groups, One League is truly a disruptive force for good on today's higher education landscape.

This unique episode touches on numerous topics, including:

•modular and online education

•corporate relations and philanthropy

•recruiting and mentoring

•Umaimah's advice to other deans

Learn more about Umaimah Mendhro

Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note!

Thanks for listening.

-

Produced by Joel Davis at Analog Digital Arts

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DEANS COUNSEL: A podcast for deans and academic leadership.

James Ellis | Moderator | Dean of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (2007-2019)

David Ikenberry | Moderator | Dean of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado-Boulder (2011-2016)

Ken Kring | Moderator | Co-Managing Director, Global Education Practice and Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry

DeansCounsel.com

On this episode of Deans Counsel, moderators Jim Ellis and Ken Kring speak with Adam Goodman, Director of the Center for Leadership at Northwestern University, where he's also a Clinical Professor in the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. With a career journey that began as a special assistant to the president of the University of Colorado, Adam has accumulated an incredible amount of knowledge about what it means to lead at the highest academic levels.

In this edifying episode, Adam speaks from experience about a number of topics, including:

•the interdisciplinary nature of leadership studies

•the importance of developing leadership skills in academia

•degree-granting leadership programs

•some practical advice for new deans

Learn more about Adam Goodman

Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note!

Thanks for listening.

-

Produced by Joel Davis at Analog Digital Arts

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DEANS COUNSEL: A podcast for deans and academic leadership.

James Ellis | Moderator | Dean of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (2007-2019)

David Ikenberry | Moderator | Dean of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado-Boulder (2011-2016)

Ken Kring | Moderator | Co-Managing Director, Global Education Practice and Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry

DeansCounsel.com

On this episode of Deans Counsel, moderators Jim Ellis and Ken Kring welcome Paul Pavlou, Dean of the University of Miami's Herbert Business School and Leonard M. Miller University Chair Professor. Recognized as one of the "World's Most Influential Scientific Minds," Paul earned a Ph.D. in Information Systems and a master’s in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California, and a bachelor’s in electrical engineering and managerial studies, magna cum laude, from Rice University. Before arriving at UM, he served as Dean of the Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston, where he helped raise over $150M in philanthropic gifts and commitments.

With equally impressive backgrounds in information systems and fundraising, Paul is well-positioned to lead Miami Herbert into he future, as well as wax eloquently in this conversation on such subjects as:

•engagement with industry

•alumni relations

•AI integration

•the challenges ahead for higher education

•the transformative life experience of being a dean

Learn more about Paul Pavlou

Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note!

Thanks for listening.

-

Produced by Joel Davis at Analog Digital Arts

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DEANS COUNSEL: A podcast for deans and academic leadership.

James Ellis | Moderator | Dean of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (2007-2019)

David Ikenberry | Moderator | Dean of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado-Boulder (2011-2016)

Ken Kring | Moderator | Co-Managing Director, Global Education Practice and Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry

DeansCounsel.com

On this episode of Deans Counsel, moderators Jim Ellis and Dave Ikenberry welcome Marianne Lewis, Dean of the Carl H. Lindner College of Business and Professor of Management at the University of Cincinnati. She knows the College extremely well, having started there as an assistant professor in management in 1997. From there, Marianne steadily rose through the ranks, becoming associate dean for undergraduate programs in 2009, a job she held for five years. After one year on a Fulbright in the UK, she accepted her first deanship, at Bayes Business School at City University of London, formerly known at the Cass Business School. Four years later, in 2019, Marianne returned to Lindner as its dean.

In this episode, we hear some remarkable, creative ideas and suggestions regarding so many aspects of what can bring out the best in business schools and the impact they can have on society. Topics addressed include:

•how universities must modernize their curriculum

•the great skills gap and teaching soft skills

•reflections on issues faced by higher education

Learn more about Marianne Lewis

Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note.

Thanks for listening.

-

Produced by Joel Davis at Analog Digital Arts

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DEANS COUNSEL: A podcast for deans and academic leadership.

James Ellis | Moderator | Dean of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (2007-2019)

David Ikenberry | Moderator | Dean of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado-Boulder (2011-2016)

Ken Kring | Moderator | Co-Managing Director, Global Education Practice and Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry

DeansCounsel.com

On this episode of Deans Counsel, moderators Jim Ellis and Ken Kring speak with Jason Wingard, Executive Chairman of The Education Board, Inc. and Distinguished Visiting Professor at Harvard. Dr. Wingard is a globally renowned executive, with deep experience in both the corporate and non-profit sectors, specializing in the future of learning and work. He recently served as the 12th President of Temple University and Professor of Management and Policy, Organizational, and Leadership Studies.

Dr. Wingard previously served as Dean of the School of Professional Studies and Professor of Human Capital Management at Columbia University. Prior to Columbia, he was Managing Director and Chief Learning Officer at Goldman Sachs.

Dean's Counsel was excited to have this opportunity to pick the brain of someone with such vast experience and success as Jason. Unsurprisingly, this conversation covers many topics, including:

•Shifting employer expectations and the Great Skills Gap

•Disruption in higher education and the need for universities to revise their curriculum

•the essential importance of teaching Soft Skills

•trending devaluation of the college degree

Learn more about Jason Wingard.

Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note.

Thanks for listening.

-

Produced by Joel Davis at Analog Digital Arts

--

DEANS COUNSEL: A podcast for deans and academic leadership.

James Ellis | Moderator | Dean of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (2007-2019)

David Ikenberry | Moderator | Dean of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado-Boulder (2011-2016)

Ken Kring | Moderator | Co-Managing Director, Global Education Practice and Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry

DeansCounsel.com

On this episode of Deans Counsel, moderators Jim Ellis and Dave Ikenberry speak with Tim Westerbeck, President of Eduvantis, a leading agency offering strategic advisor to higher education institutions around the world. Tim's work focuses on helping institutions grow amidst significant disruption, by defining strategies and new business models aligned with the future. He has served as a colum­nist for Busi­nessweek and is a fre­quent com­men­ta­tor in The Wall Street Jour­nal, The New York Times, and other global media. Tim is also a reg­u­lar pre­sen­ter at global indus­try forums, such as the Indian Man­age­ment Con­clave, AACSB Inter­na­tional, The Euro­pean Foun­da­tion for Man­age­ment Devel­op­ment, and oth­ers.

Considering the current upheaval and confusion at the highest levels of academia, largely due to the abrupt change in the political climate, Tim's appearance on the podcast couldn't be better timed. His conversation with Jim and Dave offers an interesting and high-level perspective of what's happening today. Tim talks about:

• the sense of "doom and gloom" hanging over the recent AACSB meetings
• the many ways higher education is under attack
• a stagnation in MBA programs
• innovation being the way forward - The Age of Real Innovation is Upon Us
• the emerging concept of Micro-credentials

Learn more about Tim Westerbeck

Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note.

Thanks for listening.

-

Produced by Joel Davis at Analog Digital Arts

--

DEANS COUNSEL: A podcast for deans and academic leadership.

James Ellis | Moderator | Dean of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (2007-2019)

David Ikenberry | Moderator | Dean of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado-Boulder (2011-2016)

Ken Kring | Moderator | Co-Managing Director, Global Education Practice and Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry

DeansCounsel.com