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SOM News
SOM named a top-ranked public business school
The Binghamton University School of Management has once again been ranked as one of the best business schools in the nation, according to a top publication for business education news. Of the 94 schools included in the Poets & Quants 2022 Best Undergraduate Business Schools ranking, Binghamton University came in at 27, up one spot from 2021. Among public business schools, SOM jumped into the ranking’s top 10. Poets & Quants, an online publication for business education news, developed the rankings using data on admission standards, employment outcomes and alumni surveys of the undergraduate class of 2019 to get feedback on its academic experience. SOM was ranked in the top 25 for both admission standards and alumni experience. Among the metrics that business school alumni were surveyed on, SOM received some significant accolades, including:
• Ranked #1 for business degree worth its cost in tuition • Ranked #2 for quality of extracurricular opportunities • Ranked #11 for quality of academic advising
SOM also received at least an “A” rating from alumni in the following categories:
• Would recommend program to someone interested in business education • Degree worth cost in time and resources • Opportunities to nurture and improve soft skills in business • Availability of faculty for mentoring outside of class
SOM launches EY Leaders Program
The School of Management has teamed with Ernst & Young (EY) to launch its new EY Leaders Program for undergraduate students. The multiyear program is designed for students with exceptional academic performance, a commitment to community and demonstrated leadership behaviors. Students in the program will develop a mindset to analyze and innovate while thinking and acting globally. The program provides opportunities to develop leadership skills through purposeful discovery and professional networking. Students will interact with EY professionals, campus ambassadors, Binghamton alumni and business executives throughout the program, with opportunities to visit EY workplaces. The program also focuses on areas of technology and innovation, with the goal of ensuring that students develop the cutting-edge skills needed to be successful in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, including statistical and data-driven decision making, data visualization, creative leadership, programming, modeling and machine learning.
Tim Ryan, senior partner and chairman of PwC US, shared invaluable lessons and advice with SOM students during a campus visit in March.
Seniors of the Year
Congratulations to the School of Management Seniors of the Year from the Class of 2022!
Isabella Martinez Raquel Shapiro
Bob Swan, MBA ’85, awarded honorary degree
Bob Swan, MBA ’85, an innovative leader who has helped shape the technology world, was awarded the Doctor of Humane Letters at the 2022 SOM Commencement ceremony. Swan has served in leadership positions in a number of prominent tech companies over his career, and was CEO of Intel until early 2021. In his remarks, he offered the Class of 2022 the advice he wished someone had given him upon graduation: A positive spirit is contagious: “Every interaction you have is an opportunity to make a positive impact on a person, a team, a company, an industry and maybe even the world.”
Teamwork and the diversity of teams yield better
outcomes: “A diverse team and environment where everyone can contribute to their fullest abilities is powerful. Great team players illuminate the greatness in others.” Practice intellectual curiosity: “Learning is a continuous process, and intellectual curiosity will accelerate both your knowledge accumulation and your contributions.” Leave it all on the field: “In the course of your career, you want to be able to say you did everything possible in the quest to be great at whatever it is you were doing.” Family matters: “The joy I have experienced [with my family] dwarfs anything I have achieved in my professional career.” “Each of you, in your own way, can and will make the world a better place,” Swan said. “I hope that, like me, you will be shocked and amazed by your ability to have a positive impact on the world.”
The Dhillon impact
Remembering Upinder Dhillon’s leadership of SOM
By Allen Wengert
I
t’s impossible to fully measure the impact Upinder
Management. Beyond the many milestones the school
achieved under his leadership as dean for 21 years,
Dhillon made a lasting impression on the thousands of
students who passed through SOM.
When the news of his death from an illness was announced
in April, hundreds of SOM alumni shared their memories of
Dhillon on social media. Some patterns emerged, starting with the
words many alumni used to describe Dhillon:
Transformational. Inspirational. Fair. Generous. Gentle.
Compassionate. Humble. Caring. Kind.
The second pattern was how many people recalled the
interest Dhillon had in their success beyond college. He was not
only concerned with the SOM student experience, he was invested
in continued success after Binghamton. He knew that the two
were integral to one another, as a school is only as successful as its
students and alumni, and he made it his mission to ensure SOM
was a place to foster success and excellence.
“In his 21 years as dean, he set very high
standards for himself, his students and his school, leading the way for remarkable achievements, including building one of the top-ranked business schools in the country. He developed a loyal, engaged and generous alumni base, and a reputation on campus of always having a clear vision for his school’s and the University’s future, leaving SOM in a strong position to keep moving forward … most importantly, he was a wonderfully warm and positive person who always brought out the best in those around him.”
— Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger
Dhillon began his career as a project engineer and assistant plant manager at Shriram Chemicals in Kota, India. He eventually shifted his focus to finance and earned his MBA and PhD at Louisiana State University. He came to Binghamton as a visiting assistant professor of finance in 1987, becoming a tenure-track assistant professor two years later.
Dhillon received numerous awards for teaching and research in the years following, including the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. In 1997, he was promoted to professor and named a Koffman Scholar. He was named dean of SOM in 2001.
Over the course of two decades, Dhillon helped take the school to the next level. Here are just a few highlights of his deanship:
A rise in reputation
As evidenced by rankings and faculty achievements, SOM continues to be recognized as one of the best public business schools in the country. Most recently, SOM was named a “Top 10 Public Business School” by Poets & Quants, and a “Top 50 Best College for Business Majors” by Money. SOM faculty are regularly published in top business journals and featured in major media outlets. The school’s AACSB accreditation was re-affirmed numerous times under Dhillon’s leadership, and in 2016 it earned the special distinction of holding a separate AACSB accreditation for accounting.
Exceptional student experience
With a strong focus on hands-on learning, numerous initiatives were developed to ensure SOM students have the best experience possible at Binghamton. Dhillon played a key role in establishing the Zurack Trading Room, which now boasts a student-run portfolio worth over a half million dollars, and the Innovation Lab, a new state-of-the-art location for students to collaborate on interdisciplinary projects. Enrollments for both undergraduate and graduate programs grew significantly, and the SOM Career Services Office was established to promote student success before and after graduation.
Engaged alumni and partners
External funding and gifts to SOM increased significantly, and endowments were established for the SOM Excellence and Dean’s Excellence funds, which support student and faculty success. Several fundraising galas and mentoring events were held in New York City to keep graduates in major firms engaged. SOM alumni regularly give time and advice to help ensure students have the cuttingedge skills and professional networks needed for post-college success.
Diversity
The SOM Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee was established in 2020 to formulate long-term strategic initiatives to promote equity in the school. One of these initiatives, the newly introduced Transformational Leaders Program, was designed to develop successful professional trajectories for students who are underrepresented and/ or facing economic barriers.
While he originally planned to step down as dean at the end of the 2021-22 academic year, Dhillon announced in March that he’d be retiring earlier than expected to focus on his health and family.
In his parting message to faculty, staff and students, he made it clear that the individual success of each SOM community member, as well as the collective success of that community, is what made him proudest about his time with the school.
“Serving the University and our students and having the privilege of working with so many of you has been the greatest honor of my professional career,” he said. “The exceptional quality and work ethic of SOM students has always been, and will continue to be, a great source of pride for the school.”
In his own words
Looking back on Upinder Dhillon’s words of wisdom from previous SOM publications.
On the SOM community’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020:
“We’ve worked hard to create a community mindset for the School of Management. We want our students and alumni to feel part of this community long after they’ve left Binghamton. It’s a community where we help each other, and everyone ultimately benefits.
“I’ve heard so many say in recent months, ‘I understand this is a difficult time, and I’m here to help.’ Our network is strong. We were there for each other and are still there for each other.”
On SOM’s ranking as a top 10 public business school, 2022:
“The entire School of Management family celebrates this achievement. It reflects the hard work of our students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends.
“We are thankful for the positive feedback we received from our alumni. This ranking is proof of the School of Management’s long-lasting impact on students and alumni.”
On celebrating SOM’s 50th anniversary, 2019:
“I think that one can get complacent and relax … but that is not the environment we want to create in this school. We want to create an environment in which we are always striving to be better.
“School of Management students are the reason that I’m here. They are the best in the country.”
