From the Dean

A CONTINUAL COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE

As we go to print, COVID-19 is changing how we all live and work. Here at Bloch, we are now delivering classes online and will continue to do so into the summer. Our faculty are working hard to make this transition and ensure a positive experience for our students. While students are not in our classrooms, they are using videoconferencing and other tools to conduct live case discussions, work on consulting projects, make presentations and complete group projects. Our staff is impressively focused on connecting with students via online platforms for academic advising, student support and career coaching sessions. We have a hotline for students who are experiencing challenges and have established a response team to determine how to help them remain successful.

These are difficult times, but we can all take pride in how our students, faculty, and staff are pulling together to make this work. The challenges presented by the virus are very much top of mind. But at this difficult time, we also want to take a moment to reflect upon other important developments and transitions that we have witnessed in recent times.

Thanks to generous philanthropic support, we have launched a multimillion-dollar scholarship program designed to make college more affordable and encourage students to pursue professional development and experiential learning. New partnerships have allowed us to support the region by helping employers develop and source talent. And thanks to donor support, we are engaged in efforts to refurbish Bloch Heritage Hall.

We have revamped our curriculum and launched innovative ways to deliver our courses, leveraging technology to blend flexibility and engagement. We have seen many valued colleagues retire, followed by the addition of a talented wave of new faculty.

Sadness was also very much part of our recent past here at Bloch. Our benefactor and friend Henry W. Bloch passed away one year ago. His passing has prompted much thought about his legacy and how his values and life story will serve as an enduring source of inspiration. We are honored to carry on with the “project” he started here at Bloch. As you will see inside this edition of the Bloch Magazine, Mr. Bloch’s relationship with the school started decades ago. He had a long-standing and full-fledged commitment to helping us pursue excellence. He was all in, and for this, we are so grateful.

Most readers very much appreciate the incredibly generous financial support that he provided the school, but his efforts went well beyond this. He served as mentor, spoke to classes and helped connect us to business and organizational leaders. He lent his name and he worked to help us build strong programs. And he offered so many of us generous words of encouragement and sound advice. He made a commitment to help us pursue excellence and he never wavered in that commitment.

As you read this edition, you will see that we are working to follow Mr. Bloch’s entrepreneurial spirit and his resilience in the face of challenges. To our Bloch School alumni and supporters, we invite you to join us in this effort.

Brian Klaas, Ph.D. Dean, Henry W. Bloch School of Management