A Return to Post-Katrina New Orleans

Mardi Gras (Image courtesy: Flickr)

A happy Fat Tuesday to my readers.

It’s fitting that today is Mardi Gras; I have New Orleans on my mind. I’ve just returned from the AACSB dean’s conference, which was held there last week. It’s one of my favorite professional events, and an opportunity to really connect with my peers. The conference is only open to business school deans.

That it was held in New Orleans was a bonus. It was my first time back there since I spent a year volunteering in service of Tulane University after Hurricane Katrina. A huge transformation has taken place since I left in June 2007. The city—and Tulane itself—has really taken off. The disaster has led to substantive change that is easy to spot.

When I started at Tulane in July 2006, New Orleans was not an easy place to live, even in the mostly-spared Garden District. Finding an open grocery store was difficult. The streetcars didn’t run, as the tracks and overhead power lines remained damaged. Many buildings on the Tulane campus, which had largely been devoid of flooding, still showed signs of damage.

The city was struggling, and parents sensed it. Tulane had an average of 1,300 new freshmen each year before Katrina; the year I served, they were down to 800. That’s why I approached them and offered my help: I had the opportunity, and they had more problems than resources to solve them.

Out of adversity, Tulane’s leaders (including my former boss, University president Scott Cowen) took a proactive approach—not just to restoring the campus, but also to reinvigorating the student experience. For example, civic projects have become a central part of students’ education. Tulane has become one of the hottest schools in the U.S., and last year, it enrolled hundreds more freshmen than before the storm.

At the dean’s conference, I had a chance to reconnect with Scott, and to hear him speak about the importance of bringing that same proactive approach to the global issues facing higher education. He said that just as New Orleans rallied to recovery following the storm, we must confront the challenges in higher education.

During the conference, I thought about the greater impact business students have on our communities, whether they are in New Orleans or Washington, D.C. Tulane students’ dedication to serving their community reminded me of AU students—especially in light of this year’s Kogod Case Competition, where contestants battled to find the best solution for OPOWER, a local company that helps consumers use energy more efficiently.

I was inspired by the way the student body at Tulane became so involved in the recovery effort; the connection that they built to their city is admirable. The students have proven to be a relevant, important part of the solution, and their model is one that our students can emulate—it’s a natural extension of the service and commitment Kogod students already display.

I am privileged to have been a modest part of Tulane’s efforts, and I am delighted to see that New Orleans has come so far since my last visit.

Discussing the Future—in China

I have just returned from a trip to China, where I attended the biggest professional conference in my field. I am grateful to have helped found the International Conference on Information Systems more than 30 years ago.

In that time, I’ve missed the conference only once—an attendance record I am very proud of! It represents an important opportunity to connect with colleagues I’ve known for years, many of whom are now also in leadership positions (such as Al Merten, soon-to-be retired president of George Mason University and all-around great guy).

I was able to stay on for an extra few days, and traveled from the conference in Shanghai to Xi’an, where I spoke at a symposium on the future of research in the information systems field. I met with leaders from a major university there about the potential for joint programs with Kogod. As our students know, Kogod has regularly traveled to China for short-term global learning trips (at both the undergraduate and graduate levels), but this would represent an increase in our involvement in China.

My fellow riders and I snap pictures as the maglev train reaches 422 km/h - and kept climbing. (Taken with my trusty iPad).

I consider this to be an important step for the Kogod School and for our students. China will soon be the largest economy in the world, and has roughly four times as many people as we do here in the United States. This was my fifth time visiting the country, where I am continually amazed by the incredible contrasts present: extreme wealth and poverty; unbelievable technology amidst manual labor.

On the Maglev train, which is the only high-speed line of its kind in the world, I was impressed by the incredible speed at which we traveled. However, on the platform, Chinese workers manually opened the small metal railings that prevented us from falling onto the tracks. It was the equivalent of having three gas station attendants at each pump – more people than necessary to complete the task, and certainly something that could have been automated.

The other reason my trip to China was so important is to keep a close eye on our competition, which is global in every sense. Although at present, there are a very small number of Chinese universities ranked among the best in the world, in the next ten years I expect this to change, driven in part by the rapidly growing cadre of well-trained Chinese students.

What does all this mean for the U.S. economy, and for higher education? We need to be involved, to learn more about our Chinese counterparts, and to recognize that they are increasingly part of our world.

Why D.C. is a Top Choice for Business Students

I have just attended my first “Preview Day” here at American University—our open house for prospective students (largely future undergraduates), who come tour our campus and meet with our faculty and students. The question of the day—and I get asked this question often—was “Why should you study business in Washington, D.C.?”

Now, I will acknowledge that there are a number of cities across the country where a great business education is available. And, coming from my most recent post, I would argue that New York is still the financial capital of the United States.

The bottom line is, however, that business is global; and, there is simply no city more global than Washington, D.C. I contend there is no location more global than American University’s, here in the nation’s capital.

I’m not the only one who has made the leap here from the Big Apple. Last year, while I was still in New York, the Wall Street Journal reported that the office market in D.C. was poised to topple NYC as the nation’s most expensive—a clear sign of the expansion underway here. With its relatively healthy job prospects, D.C. is an attractive market for many of our students.

In addition, government involvement in business (or intrusion, depending on your perspective), is greater now than it has ever been—at least in my lifetime—and it is going to stay that way for the next 25 years.

There is a lot of talk about whether government regulation helps or hinders the economy and resulting job growth, not to mention the impact on small business. Our Tax Center is conducting research in this area to add to the discussion. As a national election year looms, I have no doubt that the pros and cons of regulation will be hotly debated.

Regardless of your stance, D.C. is the optimal place to be as this debate wages on. There is no shortage of opportunity to listen to the debate, join in the conversation, and perhaps have an influence. And, for that reason, it is the best place to study business.

Fall Brings New Magazine Issue

I hope you’re enjoying the crisp fall air that has newly arrived. I might have brought it back with me from Chicago, where I took a brief trip last week. I traveled to the Windy City for President Kerwin’s alumni reception, where I was introduced to about 75 alumni and their guests. (I was happy to share the spotlight with my new colleague, Dean Goldgeier of AU’s School of International Service.)

When I meet a new group of constituents, like I did in Chicago, it’s good to be able to show them something tangible that represents our school’s growing accomplishments. And this was perfect timing: the new issue of our Kogod Now magazine debuted last week.

As I told the audience, Kogod is the only business school I’m aware of to have such a publication. Some schools publish scholarly journals; many publish glossy magazines that share alumni news. This is a unique product—one that takes faculty’s scholarly accomplishments and professionally reports them, in an accessible format for an extensive audience.

Given our faculty members’ keen interest in important public policy issues—I would argue that Kogod faculty focus more on these issues than the typical business school does—it is especially important that we share our research results. I was particularly pleased that Richard Clark, MBA ’70 and Merck chairman, contributed a piece for the new issue on how his company is responding to public health problems. It’s important to tie the publication to the world of practice through thoughtful practitioners like Dick.

I also want to extend my thanks to the gentlemen who participated in our discussion of digital marketing to teenagers last week, to mark the launch of the magazine: Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy, Keith Fentonmiller of the FTC, and Dan Jaffe of the Association of National Advertisers. They may hold strongly polarized opinions, but together they comprised a wonderful panel. Sonya Grier was a superb leader in that debate.

I hope that you’ve taken a few minutes to peruse the latest issue of our publication. I’m proud of it, and I know you will be, too.

School Year Starts with a Bang

In line for barbeque at the Graduate Club Fair.

You can’t say the beginning of this school year hasn’t been exciting. Earthquakes, hurricanes… do I hear humming out my window? Are locusts next?

Jokes aside, I hope our students are as thrilled to be here as I am to have them back. This is one of my favorite times of the year: when I see the campus come alive. One of the many reasons I choose to work in higher education is that I simply enjoy being around students.

Whether I was at Academic Welcome, or one of the many other events held last week—I am always glad to see eager students’ faces, and to hear about the amazingly diverse backgrounds they hail from. Even when the topic up for debate is more serious, as it was at Saturday’s orientation for new part-time graduate students. With my colleague Larry Ward, they grappled with how to handle ethical issues that might arise in the classroom—while keeping one eye trained for signs of Hurricane Irene’s approach.

Speaking of natural disasters, I have to confess: during the earthquake, I first thought someone was pushing a noisy cart down the hallway. Then I realized the building was shaking like a box of rocks! The faculty and staff members I was meeting with showed their dedication; we kept right on going post-earthquake. (By the way, that meeting was the start of our strategic visioning process, where we’re debating where to focus our school’s growth efforts. More on that to come later this year.)

I hope our new students are getting out and exploring Washington, D.C., as much as I am. On Sunday, after Irene had departed, I met Erran Carmel for a bike ride down to the new Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial on the Mall. I am still amazed at how accessible Washington is; it was barely 8 miles from my doorstep to the monument.

In sum, it’s good to see so many happy faces enjoying the sunshine—whether they are downtown enjoying a new landmark, or a few miles north under a shady tree on AU’s campus.