Tobin College of Business Hosts Deans for National Conference

The Peter J. Tobin College of Business at St. John’s University hosted the annual Northeast Business Deans Association (NEBDA) Conference September 19–20 on the Queens, NY, campus. More than 40 business school deans, associate deans, M.B.A. program directors, and assistant deans from the northeastern United States and eastern Canada attended the conference, whose theme was, “Managing Risk in Higher Education.”

Simon G. Møller, Ph.D., Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, University Distinguished Professor, and Provost Endowed Chair, told attendants, “I found the topic of this gathering managing risk in higher recognition rather timely. I’m sure you agree.”

Dr.Møller said every year the University goes through risk assessments and tries to mitigate risk. “It’s hard when there’s so many uncontrollable factors,” adding, “We have to stop thinking too much about the uncontrollable and work on the controllable.” He noted that combating declining enrollment and the sense that a college education does not hold the same value it used to is part of managing risk.

“Then we have the risk of making sure those students that come to our University feel a sense of belonging—that they are looked after, that they’re engaged, and that we tailor, as much as we can, the services around their needs.”

Dr. Møller praised the work of Maciek Nowak, Ph.D., Dean, and Joseph H. and Maria C. Schwartz Distinguished Chair. “He’s made a lot of good changes. He’s very focused on student success and making sure students who come to St. John’s and enroll in our programs feel a sense of belonging to Tobin.”

As he welcomed deans to the conference, Dean Nowak noted the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science (GSRM) is ranked ninth in the country. “New York City is the best place in the world to study insurance and risk management,” Dean Nowak noted. “If this is not part of your programming and it’s something that you’d like to offer to your students, we’d love to partner with you. We’ve done partnerships like this with others.”

He added, “Students can take our courses online and it can be a part of your portfolio. That makes your curriculum stronger by including risk management.”

A team from Protiviti, a global consulting firm that provides a variety of services, including managing risk, began the program. Zachary S. Unger, M.B.A., Managing Director, told the assembly that many GSRM graduates currently work for the firm.

Mr. Unger’s team defined risk management as identifying, assessing, and responding to risks to meet an organization’s objectives. This allows for the proactive addressing of risks before they happen, as opposed to responding to them reactively.

In addition to lectures and breakout sessions, the conference offered networking opportunities for the deans during the formal program and dinners at local restaurants.

NEBDA meets once a year in the fall to promote and to enhance collegiate education in business in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada, including sharing best practice approaches to issues and challenges facing business educators.