a l t e r C e n t e r T

Executive Director, Jen Traxler, D.ODC

What a tremendous honor it has been completing my first year as the Executive Director of the Walter Center. Transitioning to academia from corporate America after over 30 years was filled with many learnings but solidified my unwavering passion for developing our students into tomorrow's global leaders. Thanks to the Walter Center leadership team, the College of Business administration, faculty and staff, and our students for their assistance in my transition and for welcoming me to the Business Bobcat community!

Thanks to Keith and Deb Wandell, 2022-2023 was a monumental year for the Walter Center. As announced, their generous $2.5 million gift will ensure our prestigious leadership development program will have endless leadership development opportunities for our students. The Select Leaders program has been renamed the Keith and Deborah Wandell Leadership Development Program. More about this significant change is covered in the pages that follow. Still, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude again to the Wandells for their extraordinary gift and sincerely thank all the generous donors, supporters, directors, friends, and alumni of the program that have led us to this significant milestone.

We also welcomed Steve Musser to the Walter Center leadership team as the Assistant Director of the Wandell Leadership Fellows and instructor in our Master of Science in Management program. Steve is a Bobcat alum and returned to his alma mater as an Executive-inResidence and assistant professor in the Management Department in January 2022 after completing his MBA from Harvard Business School and spending over 30 years in industry. Steve’s tremendous experience and education, coupled with his passion for strategically developing our students, is unmatched, and I look forward to his leadership in the Walter Center.

In addition to the individual programs' curriculum and experiential learning opportunities, students in all the Walter Center programs participated in several leadership development opportunities together. In the fall, our Raymond Lancaster Executive Speaker Series featured Pilar McDermott, Ph.D., Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired), speaking on Why and How to Have Hard Conversations. In the spring, the groups enjoyed participating in an Etiquette Dinner, learning how to navigate conversations (and utensils) during business dinners. Finally, all groups were represented at the COB Society of Alumni and Friends (SAF)/ Joe Burrows Foundation Networking Event and had the opportunity to interact with Bobcat alumni at the Bengals' Paycor stadium. All the undergraduate programs participated in networking opportunities, too, from executive and alumni engagements to actual trips to various cities throughout the country. Servant leadership is at the core of the Walter Center's existence, and students were provided ample opportunities to serve our communities and environment through volunteer and sustainability activities. These experiential opportunities are truly what makes our programs unique and set apart our Business Bobcats from students at other institutions.

We look forward to a great 2023-2024 school year with our terrific students and continuing to forge into the future in all our programs Thank you for helping us make it happen! Please follow all of our programs on LinkedIn and Instagram to be in the know about all of our activities as they happen.

Special thanks to Amy Toth, Chief Editor of The Walter, for all the creativity, organization, and leadership she demonstrated in creating this issue.

Effective leadership development is instrumental in shaping the careers of our students, equipping them with invaluable skills and knowledge that enable them to accelerate their impact. We focus on developing the whole person.