School of Business Names New Associate Deans, Prepares To Reorganize Academic Departments
The Wayne State Board of Governors recently approved a proposal from the School of Business to reorganize its academic departments, effective September 1, 2009. Two new associate deans will lead the reorganization efforts.
Jeffrey Stoltman was recently named interim associate dean for research and graduate programs and Margaret Smoller was named interim associate dean for undergraduate programs. “We are very pleased that the Board of Governors supported our proposal,” said Dean David Williams. “I am confident that Dr. Stoltman and Dr. Smoller will both do an excellent job of working with the department chairs and faculty to ensure a smooth transition into the new departmental structure.”
The structure will change from two departments, which currently are the Department of Business and the Department of Accounting, to four departments. The Department of Accounting will remain unchanged. The Department of Business will become three new discipline-specific departments: the Department of Finance, the Department of Management and Information Systems, and the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management. The School is conducting national searches for department chairs for the three new departments.
Reorganizing into discipline-specific academic departments offers a number of advantages that will enhance the School’s academic programs. “The reorganization encourages the cultivation of a stronger research culture among faculty and Ph.D. students,” said Interim Associate Dean Jeffrey Stoltman. “This ultimately enhances the School’s ability to recruit and retain outstanding faculty members, and further boosts the school’s academic offerings to its students.” Students will benefit from the smaller, discipline-specific departments for additional reasons as well. “We will be in a position to better service student’s needs based on their major area of study,” said Interim Associate Dean Margaret Smoller. She added, “This also improves our ability to develop stronger working relationships in the business community and with professional organizations, leading to improved student engagement and opportunities for experiential learning.”
Students are assured that the reorganization will have no impact on their programs or degree designations. They will continue to follow the curriculum for their majors or concentrations as developed in their individual plans of work.
Anyone with questions about the restructuring of the academic departments may contact Jeffrey Stoltman, at 313-577-6559 or jeffstoltman@wayne.edu; or Margaret Smoller, at 313-577-6036 or m.smoller@wayne.edu.
