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DEAN’S LETTER
Dr. Gregory W. Boller
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Welcome to the 2022 edition of Fogelman Focus. As interim dean of the Fogelman College of Business & Economics, it is my privilege and pleasure to share some exciting new initiatives with you.
We have expanded our Executives-in-Residence program, which is designed to match our students with Memphis-based industry leaders. This exclusive program cultivates personal stewardship by providing one-on-one professional mentorship opportunities by highly respected and renowned business practitioners. We thank Frank Allen, Trevia Chatman, Steve Good, Dawn Graeter, Jay Myers, Alex Smith, Michael Wiggins, Duncan Williams and Paul Young for their generosity of time and dedication to enhancing our students’ educational experiences; our students are greatly benefitting from their diverse and significant expertise.
We are also excited to announce our new director for the Center for Workplace Diversity and Inclusion (CWDI), Dr. Jihae You. In addition to her CWDI director role, Dr. You is a new assistant professor in the Department of Management. Dr. You is joining us from Louisiana State University where she studied the impact of gender on corporate governance and CEO succession. Dr. You will be responsible for overseeing the mission of CWDI to empower scholars, enrich education and engage the community. She will be working collaboratively with the diversity and inclusion of faculty throughout the college to accelerate research, pursue external funding and promote diversity efforts in the University of Memphis and Greater Memphis communities.
In our ongoing efforts toward improving and enhancing the college’s online and digital offerings, we built a cutting-edge media studio in the Fogelman College complex. With this new resource, we will be able to significantly upgrade digital and interactive content used for teaching and research; better stream virtual training programs; and more assertively support efforts by our faculty, students, staff and supporters to create and share our brand stories.
In May, the State of Tennessee agreed to a $25 million investment for a major renovation to transform our current building into a state-of-the-art educational facility. We aspire to raise an additional $35 million in donor funds to support this effort. The substantial renovation will provide a dramatically advanced and innovative learning and research space for students and faculty. We are confident that the new Fogelman College complex will be the envy of elite business schools across the country.
Finally, we are proud to share that in the last two years — despite unprecedented and challenging times — we have significantly grown our business school’s program enrollments from 3,202 in fall 2019 to 3,554 in fall 2021. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our faculty and staff whose tireless efforts and tremendous dedication to our college and students make all our achievements possible.
This is an exceptionally exciting time for the Fogelman College, with so many new initiatives underway. We are honored to share our recent accomplishments and future plans with you as we position ourselves for years to come. While pursuing these exciting initiatives, our goal remains the same — to transform the lives of our students and those we serve in our communities with the power of education, professional development and opportunities for growth and success. Thank you to the Memphis community for all your support and your continued contributions to the Fogelman College of Business & Economics.
Gregory W. Boller, PhD Interim Dean and Associate Professor of Marketing Fogelman College of Business & Economics
