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SMU hires global expert as new business school dean

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Re: SMU hires global expert as new business school dean

Postby East Coast Mustang » Wed Apr 12, 2017 11:23 pm

Does Rowling donate much to SMU? Don't remember seeing his name on anything, but maybe I'm forgetting something.
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Re: SMU hires global expert as new business school dean

Postby deucetz » Thu Apr 13, 2017 10:22 am

dr. rick wrote:To be honest, this tread bothers me (LOL, part of the internet, i guess). Most posters on this thread fail to realize the job of the B-School dean: 1) raise money, 2) set culture/standards, 3) be public face of the school (corporations, new students, ...). Yes, I am on the faculty at the B-School, and met most of the candidates. One thing to consider is that the new dean had the support of the trustees (e.g., Sewell). Think of the dean as the CEO... He/she then has people to implement programs and make the school work (COO, VP's in corporate terms). Meyers was my favorite, as he had an appropriate vision, fundraising, culture, ... Don't get hung up on credentials... Even Kellogg hires relatively 'unknowns' as their Dean. Let's see how he does.


Thanks for your feedback and your service to SMU. You have a lot of great information.

My criticism with the new Dean is mainly due to the first and second points that you listed. I'm glad to hear that he has the support of the trustees and a good personality. If he is supposed to be good at raising money, I'm not sure if we can really judge his fundraising from Farmer since 55 percent of the funding was raised before he became Dean at Farmer. In terms of culture and standards, I believe that is very important--Cox and more so the rest of SMU needs a change of culture. That is why I feel SMU needed someone with work experience with institutions from the top 25--specifically, MBA programs. For a private school in the Dallas Ft. Worth market, I feel that their is a lot room SMU could move up. SMU is not a well oiled machine, the institution needs someone that will wake it up with fresh ideas--not more of the same. SMU is not even the best business school in the Dallas Ft. Worth area. 2018 US News MBA rankings: #17 UT, #29 Rice, #38 A&M, #38 UTD, #52 SMU, #65 Baylor, #71 TCU, & #93 Houston. Farmer is unranked. Rice and UTD were founded in 1974 and 1975. Without work experience from Top business schools, what cultural standards do we really want from Miami of Ohio? While rankings isn't everything, they at least give you a baseline for key metrics--I think US News is the gold standard and what most use when applying to both college and graduate school.

While Cox may be the bread and butter for undergraduate studies at SMU, it is unsettling to hear that they are not better funded by the rest of the institution. My opinion is that: 1) we need a new leadership ; 2) we can use better funding; and 3) the board of Trustees is too large for an institution of SMU's size.

New Leadership
In addition, having President R. Gerald Turner since 1995 isn't good for any institution beyond Harvard, Yale and Princeton. SMU needs an infusion of fresh ideas and better execution. Furthermore, some of the main colleges may be ripe for new leadership. The private schools (SMU, TCU, Baylor) in Texas are all not run well, beyond Rice (and maybe Trinity). The Texas private schools have beautiful campuses but they all leave something left to be desired. I think football has a lot to do with it in terms of sports over academics. I would guess all have spent close to a Billion each in the last 15 years for football. Imagine if they kept the donations for the endowment.

Raising Money

In terms of funding, for SMU to have such a rich alumni base and always talk about the amount of CEOs and Billionaires we have, the institution should be better funded. For institutions that always have a high percentage of alumni that give, it starts with the culture and how you treat the students while they are attending the university. I hope SMU will stop building fountains and parking garages. The SMU facilities master plan is ridiculous.

Board of Trustees
It is likely hard for SMU to get things done with a board of that size. 42 Trustees is too large for an institution of SMU's size, they can easily cut it by half. Where are all the academic trustees? It seems like everyone has a business background. For people that are supposed to help with culture & academic hiring, relying only on business men and the church isn't good.

In your opinion dr. rick, do you have any criticisms of Cox or the rest of SMU that you will be willing to share? Again, thanks for your service at SMU.
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Re: SMU hires global expert as new business school dean

Postby friarwolf » Thu Apr 13, 2017 11:41 am

Ditto to what deucetz said. Additionally, the quality of our incoming students continues to rise yet our rankings continue to slide. To me, that is a horrible indictment to our outgoing dean, our professors, and our president for letting it happen. I get it that fundraising is critical but if fundraising is job 1 for the dean, then you can bet the other more important metrics are going to get minimal attention.

It makes me gag to see the new dean talk about the importance of continuing education instead of the importance of improving the quality of the educational experience for our Cox undergrads and grads. So in a nutshell, focus on money - fundraising and packing rooms of execs for one week seminars.

Here's a tip, improve the quality of instruction, toughen up the curriculum and the rankings, higher quality students, packed seminars, and fundraising will follow.
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Re: SMU hires global expert as new business school dean

Postby dr. rick » Thu Apr 13, 2017 12:25 pm

At one point, we were ranked very highly (around 13-14) in MBA rankings. We slid because BW changed the criteria to favor large programs over small programs... we are still highly ranked for EMBA and PMBA programs.

Yes, we need new leadership... While I won't speak badly about turner, I used to donate 5 figures to the university. I told them that once turner is gone, I'll reconsider donating again. LOL. I still donate enough to keep my BB tickets, LOL. I gave up football season tickets, as I couldn't find anyone to go with me.

The low ranking is not an indictment against the faculty (OK I'm biased), it is more an indictment against Turner and the university. If Cox doesn't get resources, Cox can't succeed. IMHO, one key reason we have fallen in rankings is poor career management - placement. While the average starting salary for MBAs is north of 6 figures, we could and should do better. The market is changing... More one year programs are filling seats.
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Re: SMU hires global expert as new business school dean

Postby dr. rick » Thu Apr 13, 2017 12:26 pm

And our executive education is poorly managed... we should be doing 10x current business if they had a clue. lol
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Re: SMU hires global expert as new business school dean

Postby tristatecoog » Thu Apr 13, 2017 7:56 pm

#7 in Business Week (2015) -- top 10 all in major metro areas
https://find-mba.com/mba-rankings/bloom ... me-us-2015

#66 in US News (2016): https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-sc ... ngs/page+3
Miami U Farmer is #25. UTD, Rice and A&M all higher. Coogs #80.

#10 in Forbes (2005)
https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-sc ... ngs/page+3

++++++++++++++++++
SMU is now ranked #56 or so according to US News and is tied with UT-Austin for the first time. Only one Texas university is in the Top 50. TCU and Baylor have made decent strides relative to TX public universities which have been declining.

Just curious...What should Turner be doing differently? Focus more on athletics? Let Niemi retire a couple years ago before the campaign was over? Give more to undergrad business at the expense of Meadows or Dedman? Engineering seems to be doing a decent job, but yes, UT, UTD and A&M are better known for it. Maybe largely due to cost. The two year on campus residency rule seems like it will help the graduation rate, so future rankings may be on an upward trajectory.

Here was an excellent president but how many of these exist?

George Rupp was President of Rice University from 1985 to 1993, where in the course of his eight years applications for admission almost tripled, federal research support more than doubled, and the value of the Rice endowment increased by more than $500 million to $1.25 billion.
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Re: SMU hires global expert as new business school dean

Postby dr. rick » Thu Apr 13, 2017 10:48 pm

Sigh. Some background, as budgets are not a zero-sum game. Each College/School pays a 'tax' to the central administration - assume it is 50% (not the real number, but it makes the discussion easier). Further assume that cox's revenues are $10 million. So, cox pays SMU $5 million, and uses the rest for faculty/staff salaries/other expenses. This is simplistic, but the arcane rules of the budget really don't matter, and change from university to university. So, if Cox hires someone, and stays in the black, then it does not divert any resources from the other schools. That is, if cox hires a person, it does not impact any other school's ability to do so. Each school sets its' own priorities for spending, as Lyle's needs are different then Cox's which are different than Dedman's, ... So far so good?

One example of why I think turner needs to go. Cox tried to hire 5 staff positions this year (and many more faculty - remember 26% students, 10% of faculty)... these positions were in the areas that many would support, executive education (which raises viability and rankings), placement (which raises ratings),... But we were turned down by the central administration.
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Re: SMU hires global expert as new business school dean

Postby tristatecoog » Fri Apr 14, 2017 2:37 pm

Thanks for the info. A fun book...

https://books.google.com/books?id=pPjJAwAAQBAJ&dq=College/School+pays+a+%27tax%27+to+the+central+administration
"Of course, the deans in the professional schools are fully convinced they're subsidizing the college, [and] the Arts and Sciences more generally..." A UH assoc dean of engineering told me that in budget allocation discussions, the English department said they had dramatically improved their rankings and deserved more funding. He said, "Doubling your stature from a 2 to a 4 on a scale of 1-10 is much easier, and less noteworthy, than our improvement from an 8 to a 9."

A few other thoughts.
* Cox doesn't have any expensive PhD students to fund or lab equipment in the case of the sciences.
* I believe its professors also teach lighter loads than two courses per semester with additional research expectations like other schools.
* Its professors are paid more than the average SMU professor, as dictated by market demands.
* Cox students take courses in Dedman and Meadows but I suspect few Dedman/Meadows majors take Cox classes.
* The requested five staff and other professors appear to have been outside of the School's budget. The central admin had to weigh each School's outside requests and make funding decisions. As we know, athletics is at least $15-$20M in a deficit position each year but surely that's part of the annual funding allocations.
* I believe Turner, provosts and board have pushed for science/Lyle and Cox growth to improve incoming test scores. Its worked but what's the right balance? I've heard that Meadows can't attract enough qualified students at the higher average requirements. Over time, as SMU's reputation rises, it should help all departments but it's a continuing balance.
* Lastly, I am a Cox MBA mentor and also have an MBA. I hope the new Dean is every bit of the fundraiser, motivator and program builder that some say he is. I haven't seen that background articulated but those that have met him seem impressed. I'll meet him this fall and look forward to hearing his vision.
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Re: SMU hires global expert as new business school dean

Postby gostangs » Sun Apr 16, 2017 6:00 pm

To say that we need to fix everything and money will follow is silly. Money is the only answer to all the complaints - so everyone complaining needs to get out the ol check book. Money always leads when problems are fixed.

Our MBA program has been neglected in my view - particularly scholarship money for MBA's. Higher student quality in the BBA program came due to Carl Sewell creating and funding the Cox scholars - that alone has increased our average test scores dramatically across the entire university. We need the equivalent mini campaign for MBA scholarships RIGHT NOW - and not waiting until the next campaign. If we can raise 30 million for endowed MBA scholarships we will be back on the map very quickly. Yes that is a ton of money - but a concerted effort among BOTH SMU alums and also Dallas corporate interests could get it down pretty quickly.

For Dallas to not have a top 20 MBA program in Dallas - a top four US metro area - is criminal. That MBA program must be SMU. I like Neimi but he hung around too long. There should never be a dean or President serve more than ten years in educational institution like SMU. Too many new ideas and untapped energy to have the same ol same ol.

I like the new guy and can't wait to see him get to work. There are a ton of doors that have not been knocked on just due to folks getting comfortable. Lots of work to be done.
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Re: SMU hires global expert as new business school dean

Postby tristatecoog » Sun Apr 16, 2017 9:33 pm

DMN article about new dean....cool, trustworthy and made 10+ year commitment...Sewell is sold
https://www.dallasnews.com/business/bus ... iness-dean

So, one knock I have against RGT is the administrative creep. Despite admin cuts post-Bain, it seems like a lot of new programs had new administrative leaders and the costs of VP+ folks as % of total budget seems to have risen quite a bit. Not unlike many other universities but still not ideal.
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Re: SMU hires global expert as new business school dean

Postby PonyTime » Mon Apr 24, 2017 10:26 am

All good points to consider and Prof Rick hits the nail on the head
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Re: SMU hires global expert as new business school dean

Postby Mustangs_Maroons » Thu May 04, 2017 10:03 am

Here is what I find troubling about SMU in general and Cox in particular:

1. lack of fresh ideas, from both Turner and Niemi. We have stood still in many regards and have not exploited being a top private institution (with historical strengths in its law school, b-school) in one of the largest metropolitan cities in the US. You think of every key city in the US and there is at least one top school associated with it. Here are the top 11 metro areas in the US. Only Miami is in the same situation.
- 1. NY (Columbia), 2. LA (UCLA), 3. Chicago (UChicago and Northwestern), 4. DFW (?), 5. Houston (Rice), 6. DC (Georgetown), 7. Philadelphia (UPenn), 8 Miami (?), 9. Atlanta (Emory), 10. Boston (Harvard, MIT), 11. San Francisco (Stanford, Berkeley)

2. Niemi is out and we bring in this new guy. Now, I don't know him but the signal that we are sending is that we could not attract someone from a top institution. We are never going to get the dean at Wharton, but why not go for the associate dean at Wharton, or Virginia, or Georgetown? Do we not have what it takes to attract one of these people to be the head honcho at Cox? Someone mentioned Kellogg brings in relative unknown names, well, we're not Kellogg. They stand on a different footing and can bring in someone that is capable but may not have the brand name. Yale for goodness sake felt compelled to bring in the dean at UChicago because they needed that dean that was great with fund raising but it was also sent a very strong signal to professors and mba candidates that Yale SOM was serious. This was a step down for Snyder but he was almost done with his tenure at UChicago and he viewed it as a challenge. I didn't even blame him for doing it because I felt he felt his job at the GSB was done. Was there no one in a similar situation we could have brought in?

3. I'm tired of all the fountains too. Yes, the campus is beautiful, but we need money flowing in to fund for professors and scholarships. That is the only way to be competitive to attract top-quality students at both the UG and graduate levels

4. Like it or not, rankings matter, and it is inexcusable that UTD would be ranked higher than SMU at anything let alone business school rankings. I would have fired Niemi on the spot when this happened. Rice, has a great UG tradition, but it was a relatively unknown in the graduate b-school scene, and they have surpassed us. Pedigree does matter, and students look for it, in both its institutions as well as the leaders of these institutions.

We can attract better. We must attract better leadership. Myers may turn out to do a fine job, but we will be left wondering could someone else have done better. Will he really take us to the next step to become a top 30 UG school, and to become a top 30 graduate school, or are we fine with staying as we are. I think the signal from this hire is not one that will serve as a catalyst for us, when we really could have used that push to propel us.
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Re: SMU hires global expert as new business school dean

Postby PonySnob » Fri May 05, 2017 11:36 am

Could having a president with a tenure as long as RGT's be hurting us as people know he's nearing the end of his time on the Hilltop?
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Re: SMU hires global expert as new business school dean

Postby gostangs » Fri May 05, 2017 12:37 pm

Maroon I agree with most of your post. It is inexcusable for Dallas to not have a top twenty business school - that has to be SMU. The student quality between UTD and SMU is not even close - so how can we not be higher? All of Cox should be embarrassed and determined to fix it.

Also - I think Neimi was fine in his time, but that time ended 5-7 years ago. At all institutions you sometimes get older benefactors who become friends with (and protect) older Deans, and it is very hard to push someone out to pasture if they aren't ready to go.

That said - I have met Meyer and I think he is a very good hire. Second and third benchers at even highly rated institutions are usually more administrative and not very dynamic. In short - they don't know how to sell and they are easy for money guys to say no to. Deans at a place like SMU need to be very persuasive so that they are successful at one thing - raise money. When they are not raising money they need to be recruiting new rock star talent. We are 40 million behind in our MBA scholarship funds compared to where we need to be to be able to buy great students away from our aspirational schools. That is not a small number. We are 30 million behind in endowed chairs. We desperately need to run off some of our 70 plus yr old chair sitters and get some academic energy going.

We have huge advantages sitting in the middle of Dallas and also being in Texas. We need a ton of new ideas, energy and money to make up some ground. Tough job for Meyers in this pricing environment but I am optimistic he has the external and internal tools to be the right guy.
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Re: SMU hires global expert as new business school dean

Postby SoCal_Pony » Fri May 05, 2017 11:09 pm

PonySnob wrote:Could having a president with a tenure as long as RGT's be hurting us as people know he's nearing the end of his time on the Hilltop?


On that note, the fact that Niemi is hanging around as a professor, is that good or bad, or does it matter?
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