An Update at Year's End and a Look to 2013

As this busy and exciting year draws to a close, I wanted to provide a quick update on some recent items of note and preview some things to look forward to in 2013.

A Shift at the Top in Undergraduate Program
Last month, Connie Wanberg stepped down as Associate Dean to return to her previous role in WOrg as a full and chaired professor. Replacing Connie in this important role is Carlson School Professor Ian Maitland. Ian first joined the Carlson School in 1979 and most recently has served as professor of business ethics and international business. He has extensive experience with the Undergraduate Program and has taught in the Carlson School's China and Warsaw Executive MBA program as well as the Management of Technology Master's Program. Ian has a PhD from Columbia University in sociology and a BA from Magdalen College, Oxford. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in England, is a member of the California Bar, and served as the president of the Society of Business Ethics in 2010-11. We are indeed fortunate to have such a talented faculty member stepping up to this position.

Executive Education
It is my pleasure to announce that Karl Johnson has been named Assistant Dean of the Carlson School's Executive Education program effective December 28, 2012. Since July, Karl has served in an administrative leadership role for Executive Education. He joined the Carlson School in 2008 and has deep experience in both custom and open enrollment programs at UC Berkeley and the University of Notre Dame.

In his new role, Karl will report to Associate Dean Mark Bergen. Together, their professional backgrounds and skills promise to provide an effective combination for leading this ever-so-important part of our school.

I am very excited about a new Executive Education offering, "From Madness to Method: Data Analytics for Today's Socially Networked Business," a new, two-day course led by SOBACO on February 7 and 8. Marketers, data analysts, and IT professionals will examine best practices for the business use of social media, from top-level strategy to tools for data measurement and analysis. See the SOBACO website for more details or visit the Executive Education website for enrollment information.

A 20/20 Vision for 2020
It is time for the school to establish a vision to help guide decisions for the remainder of this decade. To begin that process, I have asked three tenured faculty to begin that process. Debbie John is an expert on branding and has agreed to chair the group. Others include Alok Gupta and Myles Shaver, both highly respected and influential in the school.

Upcoming Events
The 2013 calendar of 1st Tuesday events is impressive to say the least. Following my presentation in February, we have Governor Mark Dayton as our guest speaker in March; Sara Mathew, chairman and CEO of Dun & Bradstreet, in April; Indra Nooyi, chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, in May; and Jennifer Ford-Reedy, president of the Bush Foundation, in June. I hope you'll have an opportunity to attend some, if not all, of these wonderful events.

Following are some additional events of which you may wish to make note:

February 13: Breakfast Series featuring Professor Kathleen Vohs

April 19: HR Tomorrow Conference

April 26: 9th Annual Women's Leadership Conference

Have a Happy New Year and enjoy the well-deserved holiday break!