DEAN’S REPORT Developing Leaders for a Better World 2020-2021
®
IN THIS REPORT
1
8
Message from the Dean
Teaching and Research Initiatives
2
12
Performance
Strategic Plan
4
14
Exceptional Talent
Enhancing the VSB Brand
5
17
Research Productivity
Fundraising
6
18
Worthy Recognition
Dean’s Fund for Strategic Initiatives
All photos were taken before the COVID-19 pandemic or within proper guidelines.
4 VILLANOVA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
MESSAGE FROM
THE DEAN Looking back on the 2020–2021 academic year, I am encouraged by the tenacity of our Villanova School of Business community. The COVID-19 pandemic required VSB to face challenges like never before, but we overcame those challenges and have come out stronger on the other side. Throughout the past academic year, VSB has continued to support, create and develop many initiatives that promote the University’s mission, as well as our own. This report provides an overview of VSB’s greatest and most recent accomplishments in our pursuit of excellence. We have learned so much over the course of the past year, and through it all I am more assured than ever that we will rise to meet any challenges ahead. Above all, we are committed to creating an environment that is welcoming, fair and inclusive for all students, faculty, staff and alumni. After five years as VSB’s Helen and William O’Toole Dean, I am truly honored to have been recently appointed to continue serving this community. I look forward to the ongoing success of VSB and I am confident that our collective success— as well as the success of each individual within our community—will grow. The School of Business has much to be proud of, and our future is bright.
Joyce E. A. Russell, PhD The Helen and William O’Toole Dean Professor of Management 2020–2021 DEAN’S REPORT 1
PERFORMANCE In the 2020–2021 academic year, VSB was once again recognized for excellence through external, independent rankings.
UNDERGRADUATE CLASS OF 2024
5,983 APPLICANTS
GRADUATE AND EXECUTIVE PROGRAMS CAMPUS MBA
424
91%
OF ACCEPTED STUDENTS ENROLLED*
ENROLLMENT
1360-1470
MASTER OF SCIENCE IN FINANCE
147%
MID-RANGE SAT
4.01-4.41
INCREASE IN ENROLLMENTS
MASTER OF ACCOUNTING IN DATA ANALYTICS
95%
MID-RANGE GPA
3,738 EARLY ACTION APPLICANTS
315
SUCCESSFUL PLACEMENT FOR CLASS OF 2021 GRADUATES**
EARLY DECISION APPLICANTS *Flex Track MBA ** Students who secured full-time roles three months post-graduation or continued their education
2 VILLANOVA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
OUTCOMES
94
%
SUCCESSFUL PLACEMENT FOR UNDERGRADUATES**
$
67,333
AVERAGE STARTING SALARY FOR UNDERGRADUATES
25%
AVERAGE INCREASE IN MBA SALARY UPON PROGRAM COMPLETION
RANKINGS U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT
#
5
ONLINE GRADUATE BUSINESS PROGRAMS
#
17
ONLINE MBA
35
#
PART-TIME MBA
POETS & QUANTS
#
13
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM (CONSISTENT PERFORMANCE)
2020–2021 DEAN’S REPORT 3
EXCEPTIONAL TALENT VSB attracts world-class teacher-scholars— leaders in their field—who feel as passionately about their students’ success as they do their own. Our newest faculty members bring experience in corporate finance, financial policy analysis, and finance and social responsibility. We are pleased to welcome their many contributions to the VSB community.
RISHTEE BATRA, PhD Assistant Teaching Professor, Marketing & Business Law Dr. Batra received her PhD in Marketing from Boston University and joined Villanova after serving on the faculty of the Haub School of Business at St. Joseph’s University. Dr. Batra’s research focuses on cross-national differences in corporate social responsibility and stakeholder management. She also spent several years in the Asia-Pacific region, where she developed expertise in consumer behavior and market entry in emerging markets.
SHELLY RATHEE, PhD Assistant Professor, Marketing & Business Law Dr. Rathee earned her PhD from the University of Utah, where she received the Doctoral Teaching Excellence Award. Her areas of expertise include business analytics, pro-social behavior, numerosity, and magnitude perception and consumer perception. She served as a reviewer for the Society for Consumer Psychology annual conference and has a degree in Management in Fashion Business from the National Institute of Fashion Technology in Delhi, India.
MARK OLSON ’10 VSB, ’15 MBA, ’16 MSF Instructor, Finance & Real Estate Olson earned his BS, MBA and MSF from Villanova, and he has taught Principles of Finance and Fixed Income classes to undergraduate VSB students, as well as the MBA Corporate Finance course. Previously a visiting professor, Olson served as a graduate research fellow, analyzing new stock issuances and collecting information for REIT 10-K and 10-Qs.
LUKE WATSON, PhD Assistant Professor, Accounting & Information Systems Dr. Watson received his BBA and MS in Accountancy from the University of Notre Dame and earned his PhD from The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Watson taught at Drexel University and is an ad hoc reviewer of 20 academic journals, including the Journal of Accounting and Economics and The Accounting Review. He served as the Accounting Research Workshop co-coordinator at Drexel University and has won numerous awards.
RESEARCH PRODUCTIVITY Despite the challenges of the last year, VSB continued to implement its strategic planning goals related to research. Overall, total faculty research productivity was 11% higher in the period from 2016 to 2020 than 2015 to 2019, including more articles published by our faculty in top-tier journals. VSB engaged in formal research collaboration with more than 55 of our talented students through various campus initiatives. We were also able to host the following virtual conferences: THE MARC FINANCE CONFERENCE This conference featured distinguished presenters from our region and across the globe, as well as a keynote presentation from the Wharton School’s Itay Goldstein, PhD. VSB RESEARCH INSIGHTS SYMPOSIUM In conjunction with the Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, “The Future of Health Care Management” symposium featured faculty from Villanova as well as other top institutions and a keynote presentation by David Pacitti ’89 CLAS, president of Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc., and head of Siemens Healthineers North America. THE 3RD ANNUAL VSB RESEARCH DAY Undergraduate students and faculty presented their research work in a poster symposium. 2020–2021 DEAN’S REPORT 5
WORTHY RECOGNITION Ingrained in the VSB culture is the importance of recognizing those who advance the mission and uphold our values in various ways, including outstanding teaching, research and service. Following are those who received awards this year:
UNIVERSITY-WIDE RECOGNITION 2021 Villanova University Research Awards
Christopher Kilby, PhD Professor, Economics Villanova University Outstanding Faculty Research Award
Manuela Priesemuth, PhD Associate Professor, Management & Operations University Scholarly Achievement Award
VSB FACULTY AWARDS
Caitlin Dillon Dannhauser, PhD The Michelle and Sean Traynor ’91 Assistant Professor, Finance & Real Estate Research to Practice Award* *Supported by the Pio-Schulte Family
Denise Hanes Downey, PhD KPMG Endowed Professor in Accounting The McDonough Family Faculty Award for Research Excellence
Jeremy Kees, PhD
Visiting Instructor, Management & Operations William J. O’Neill Award for Undergraduate/Graduate Teaching Excellence
The Richard J. and Barbara Naclerio Endowed Chair in Business; Professor, Marketing & Business Law; Faculty Director, Center for Marketing and Consumer Insights; Faculty Athletics Representative The McDonough Family Faculty Award for Research Excellence
Sarah Burke, PhD
Mary Kelly, PhD
Michael Bray
Associate Teaching Professor, Economics Gerald A. Dougherty Endowed School of Business Faculty Award
Associate Chair, Teaching Professor, Economics External Engagement Award
Kevin Clark, PhD
Faculty Director, Center for Church Management Professor of Practice, Management & Operations Media Relations Gold Star Award
Chair, Professor, Management & Operations The Daniel J. O’Mara Villanova School of Business Faculty Award
6 VILLANOVA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Matthew Manion
Rabih Moussawi, PhD
Lauren Higgins
Associate Professor, Finance & Real Estate Media Relations Rising Star Award
Associate Director Center for Marketing & Consumer Insights VSB Dean’s Rookie Award
Benjamin Scheick, PhD Associate Chair, Associate Professor, Finance & Real Estate Thomas J. Carmody, Jr. Faculty Award
VSB DEAN’S STAFF EXCELLENCE AWARDS Christine Etheridge Director, External Relations and Alumni Engagement Office of the Dean VSB Dean’s Ambassador Award
Emily McMordie Associate Director, Advising The Clay Center VSB Dean’s Student Champion Award
Carly Gulasarian Program Administrator The Daniel M. DiLella Center for Real Estate VSB Dean’s Veritas, Unitas, Caritas Award
Anthony Penna Director, Recruitment and Enrollment Management Graduate and Executive Business Programs VSB Dean’s Ambassador Award
Pierre Venescar Assistant Director The Clay Center VSB Dean’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award
Julie Basla Event Planner Office of the Dean VSB Dean’s Innovation Award 2020–2021 DEAN’S REPORT 7
ENHANCEMENTS THAT SUPPORT TEACHING AND LEARNING Bartley Hall underwent numerous technological upgrades to support hybrid and remote learning from which we will benefit for years to come. This includes new cameras in the classrooms to support hybrid and online learning as well as technology like webcams, tablets and monitors. Throughout the 2020-2021 academic year, VSB instructors delivered a classroom experience in a variety of teaching modalities to meet the need for in-person and virtual instruction. Courses were offered at the undergraduate and graduate levels online, in a hybrid format, simulcast and live in person. This combination of modalities meant that most undergraduate students were able to remain on campus during the academic year. Graduate programs were moved to off-campus locations to better support the unique needs of this student population and to allow for more space and distancing in Bartley Hall. Instructors offered virtual office hours, worked together to share best practices and pivoted multiple times each semester to deliver a VSB-level quality learning experience. While the flexibility offered by the other modalities is something that we will continue to explore, our community realized how important in-person instruction is to the student experience at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. It is and will continue to be a strength of our teaching and learning experience at Villanova and at VSB.
8 VILLANOVA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
EXPANDING STUDENT EXPERIENCES The Davis Fund for Student Experiences continued to make a meaningful impact on hundreds of students despite the challenging circumstances of the past year. We were able to fund many initiatives, including student participation in virtual conferences, book clubs and skill-building opportunities, and we supplemented some living expenses while students had unpaid or low-paying internships. We funded over 900 student experiences and awarded over $100,000 to undergraduate and graduate students.
TOP EMPLOYMENT PARTNERS We are grateful to VSB’s employment partners, who have continued to support our students in this unpredictable time. We thank them for hiring our graduates, providing meaningful internships and co-ops to our students, and engaging in their learning in the classroom. Some of the top employers include: 3M, Accenture, Amazon, Ankura Consulting, AON, Bank of America, Bank of Montreal, Barclays, BlackRock, Boston Consulting Group, Citi, Comcast/NBCUniversal, Credit Suisse, Crowe LLP, Deloitte, Deloitte Consulting, Deutsche Bank, Digitas, EY, FTI Consulting, Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies, J.P. Morgan, Kepler Group, KPMG, McKinsey & Co., Morgan Stanley, MUFG, PwC, Reckitt Benckiser, SAP, Vanguard, ViacomCBS and Wells Fargo. 2020–2021 DEAN’S REPORT 9
STRONG CONNECTIONS EXTERNAL RELATIONS AND ALUMNI OUTREACH Over the course of 2020–2021, VSB executed various external relations efforts, including events, initiatives and outreach that support the VSB mission to build business leaders for a better world. During 2020, all external engagement shifted to exclusively virtual. Given this unique challenge, alumni, employers and corporate sponsors never wavered in their support of VSB. Outreach to alumni allowed a more diverse geographic reach in our alumni and stakeholders attending virtual events.
SPONSORSHIPS AND SIGNATURE EVENTS Many of the VSB Signature Events were hosted virtually due to the ongoing pandemic. In fall 2020, we again partnered with Pennsylvania Conference for Women to sponsor their virtual annual conference where we received over 1.2 million impressions. Dean Russell and Aronté Bennett, PhD, recorded and offered video “Learning Bursts” on the topics of negotiation and allyship, which were viewed by participants on conference day and in the weeks following. We also offered career counseling with Dean Russell and our associate deans, which was a pop10 VILLANOVA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
ular attraction at our virtual booth, and we helped women with career questions and advice. The PA Conference for Women also has a significant commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, which aligns with the University’s and VSB’s strategic plans. We continue to strategically engage in sponsorships with other organizations that align with our mission and values. We launched the new VSB Stakeholder Summit virtually with more than 200 attendees. The Summit featured updates on the University and VSB responses to the pandemic, alumni recognition and a fireside chat with Bartley Medallion recipient Denise Devine ’77 VSB, ’83 MT, P ’06, ’09. For this year’s Commencement activities, VSB hosted a virtual Academic Excellence Beta Gamma Sigma induction, an in-person Academic Excellence Bartley Medallion ceremony and departmental receptions for undergraduate students. Throughout the year, we also partnered with student organizations and societies, where the dean welcomed numerous CEOs and other senior executives to virtual events for students.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH To continue the important work of encouraging women and underrepresented minorities to pursue a business education, we began piloting virtual programming with select community and University partners. We held a mini-business conference with high school girls interested in business and entrepreneurship. Our faculty taught sessions virtually on several business topics, including marketing, management, supply chain management and finance. The students used that knowledge to create their own businesses and business plans. We also held a two-week Summer Business Academy in partnership with the Center for Access, Success and Achievement. We delivered classes on finance, accounting, marketing, management and business law, as well as workshops on the economic impact of COVID and StrengthsFinder. We offered sessions to the students on innovation and creativity, and they learned about ethics and how it impacts business. The College Essay Review program continues to grow. This year, with approximately 50 volunteers, we reviewed 142 essays from 117 students across the Philadelphia area. We were able to review and give feedback to students from across Philadelphia’s high schools and provide support for students wanting to attend college. 2020–2021 DEAN’S REPORT 11
VSB’S STRATEGIC PLAN VSB concluded the strategic planning process and moved to the implementation phase. In line with the University’s strategic plan, Rooted. Restless., some of our initiatives were paused during the pandemic so we could focus on the safety and health of our community, as well as working to ensure that every student has an outstanding experience at VSB. We focused our efforts on undergraduate research and our commitment to enhancing the critical competencies students will need for their careers. Most notably, we moved forward with our diversity, equity and inclusion work.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION Strategic efforts in support of diversity, equity and inclusion remained a top priority during this past academic year, and the team further developed an action plan with focus areas to drive and report on progress: •S trategic Implementation: Establishing and continuing to implement the blueprint for action, identifying opportunities for programming, partnerships and initiatives •S afe and Open Dialogue: Creating space to listen and inform future objectives through office hours, one-on-one appointments, facilitated discussions and community sharing sessions •C urriculum: Identifying ways to formally integrate diversity, equity and inclusion concepts throughout the VSB curriculum
12 VILLANOVA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
•T raining and Content: Providing valuable tools and resources for key stakeholders, inside and outside of the classroom •A llyship: Promoting the importance of allyship and the understanding of behaviors and mindsets that create more inclusive environments •R esources: Creating a central repository of resources to support DEI efforts across the College and liaise with University DEI efforts
2020–2021 DEAN’S REPORT 13
ENHANCE THE VSB NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL BRAND Building and growing a brand is as important in higher education as it is in business to remain competitive and enhance our national rankings, as well as to attract those who embrace our mission and values.
EXTERNAL RELATIONS AND ALUMNI OUTREACH The VSB Communication & Marketing Team promotes the scholarship and expertise of our faculty and staff, as well as the many success stories of our students and alumni. During the past 12 months, VSB has achieved more than 1,340 media hits generating over two billion media impressions. This has included prestigious outlets like the Associated Press, Bloomberg Businessweek, CNN, Forbes, NBC News, The New York Times, NPR, Reuters, U.S. News & World Report and The Wall Street Journal. We also placed one additional VSB faculty member in a regular contributor role on a national media website. Aronté Bennett, PhD, associate chair of Marketing & Business Law, is now a regular contributor on Forbes.com. She joins Dean Russell; Ray Taylor, PhD, the John A. Murphy Professor of Marketing; Steve Andriole, PhD, the Thomas G. Labrecque, Endowed Chair in Business; and Noah Barsky, PhD, associate professor, Accounting & Information Systems, 14 VILLANOVA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
who are regular Forbes.com contributors. We continued our award-winning Inspiring Minds, a VSB faculty research podcast series for which exceptional students are paired with our world-class faculty to discuss their recent research, thus making it more accessible to the marketplace. Since the series launched in 2016, we have uploaded 38 episodes with a combined total of more than 9,000 listens and 430,000 social media impressions.
SOCIAL MEDIA The VSB Communication & Marketing team continues to build our brand through our social media presence and engagement. This work has become increasingly important as we worked to keep our students, faculty and staff feeling connected while we were not physically together. Our team received an increase in requests to use VSB’s social feeds to share messages from all groups within VSB. We hosted more than a dozen corporate and student society takeovers, shared virtual programming, highlighted student resources, and communicated VSB’s commitment to DEI.
Our followers continued to grow across all platforms. We have seen tremendous growth as we strategically engage with our undergraduate students on Instagram and our graduate students and alumni on LinkedIn. The percentage of change from last year is as follows:
42% INCREASE 27% INCREASE Notably, our total audience across all platforms increased by nearly 20% and there was a 153% increase in the number of posts from the year before.
WEB COMMUNICATION We reached a milestone of redesigning over 500 VSB webpages to reflect a more modern and accessible layout, including the rollout of an entirely updated undergraduate section and new sections for entrepreneurial programs. To continue building the VSB brand, we developed a new “Making An Impact” section that highlights members of the VSB community who are making an impact in their organizations, communities and the world. VSB’s strategic plan messaging was also carefully woven into messaging throughout the site to convey a consistent message for all stakeholders around VSB’s mission, vision and strategic goals. Our team continuously sources exceptional stories from our community to share in our marketing efforts. Please contact us at vsbcommunicationsandmarketing@villanova.edu to share your story!
2020–2021 DEAN’S REPORT 15
16 VILLANOVA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
FUNDRAISING ACHIEVEMENTS We are so grateful for the financial support we received from numerous stakeholders, especially our alumni. Financial support is critical for VSB to enhance our learning environment, elevate our profile as a producer of groundbreaking research, and enrich the overall educational experience. Dean Russell worked with our Development team for a successful year that generated $7.1 million in contributions across endowments, restricted gifts and unrestricted funds. A few of VSB’s most significant gifts this past academic year were an $800,000 gift from Michael and Kathleen Castellano to support the Center for Church Management; a $500,000 gift from KPMG for MAC scholarships; a $500,000 gift to jumpstart the Business Communications Center; and multiple $50,000 and $100,000 gifts to support scholarships for VSB students, among other things.
BREAKDOWN OF DONORS 1,379 TOTAL
52
79
102
241
FACULTY AND STAFF
905
FRIENDS
CORPORATIONS AND FOUNDATIONS
PARENTS
ALUMNI
Due to the pandemic, all events were moved to a virtual format to protect the health and safety of our community. While challenging, this also led to a more convenient format for our alumni and donors to meet with Dean Russell. She was able to virtually meet with donors in Hawaii, Chicago and NYC all in one day, something that would not have been feasible before COVID-19, and she hosted events with major donors, companies and Villanova clubs throughout the year. 2020–2021 DEAN’S REPORT 17
DEAN’S FUND FOR STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
This fund provides the dean the flexibility to address the college’s greatest and most pressing needs as well as to act quickly on opportunities that can further VSB’s reputation and success. It allows VSB to be entrepreneurial and compete with other top-tier business schools. Gifts to the fund support key initiatives, such as technology and classroom upgrades, opportunities to support our world-class teacher-scholars, superior student services through the Clay Center and the Centers of Excellence, and funding to increase marketing and communications efforts to enhance VSB’s national prominence. The fund also supports mission-based programming, such as funding for the Center for Church Management.
2020-2021 DONORS
DONORS PLEDGED
TOTAL FUNDS RECEIVED
TOTAL FUNDS PLEDGED
300 942,432
$
18 VILLANOVA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
51
$
1,027,600
52
%
33
%
15
%
RETAINING OUR TOP TALENT With support from our donors, the VSB faculty continue to positively impact teaching in the classroom and produce insightful, cutting-edge research on timely topics. We are also able to better recognize, reward and retain our talented staff in order to best serve our academic community.
EXPANDING OUR REACH By contributing directly to VSB, our donors have allowed us to enhance our communication and marketing efforts to increase awareness and elevate our national profile through advertising, brand content, community and external outreach, media relations, publications, and social media. The VSB Communication & Marketing team shares VSB’s unique and compelling story by creating strategic, award-winning assets that support our mission and attract students to our top-ranked graduate business programs.
ENRICHING OUR LEARNING ENVIRONMENT For years, VSB has been recognized as one of the nation’s top business schools. Your support allows VSB to find new ways to engage our students, offering them the most timely and accessible education by hosting conferences and launching new initiatives in business education that advance VSB’s strategy. 2020–2021 DEAN’S REPORT 19
Villanova School of Business 800 East Lancaster Avenue Villanova, PA 19085
DID YOU KNOW? VSB TURNS 100 IN 2022! As we look ahead, we reflect on our past and the legacies you have all helped to create. Dean Russell and the VSB community would love to see your photos and learn about your stories over the past 100 years. Please send to: vsbcommunicationsandmarketing@villanova.edu.
@VillanovaSchoolofBusiness
@VU_Business | @VSB_Dean
@villanovabusiness
Villanova School of Business
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS!