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GONZAGA UNIVERSITY MBA-AIE MEETING REPORT
MAY 24, 2023
Gonzaga University Participants:
Dr. Ken Anderson, Dean & Professor of Management, School of Business Administration Dr. Becky Bull Schaefer, MBA Programs Director, Associate Professor of Management Joanne Barber, Director of Development, School of Business
Johnson Scholarship Foundation Participants:
Bobby Krause, CEO Sherry Salway Black, Indigenous Programs Consultant Sharon Wood, Program Officer Lady Hereford, Program Specialist
JSF’s 7-year matching grant agreement with Gonzaga for endowment building and program support of the MBA-AIE program was completed in 2021. A few months ago, Joanne Barber reached out in hopes of discussing a new partnership with JSF to raise additional funds for the MBA-AIE program. This raised several questions for JSF, especially in light of several leadership transitions and operational changes within the program in recent years. Though this meeting was primarily about the program’s current status, the conversation began with a discussion of where Gonzaga sees the program going in the future.
Ken Anderson stated that this is an exciting time for Gonzaga overall. He briefly explained that the School of Business Administration is driven by 3 values: Excellence, Engagement and Inspiration. For the MBA- AIE program, the restructuring of the program from a 3-year experience to a 2-year one was about creating excellence. The focus on introducing the students to real-life businesspeople and traveling abroad is about engagement.Theemphasisonethicsandsustainabilityisaboutinspiration. BeckyBullSchaeferexplainedthat the students love being together, and they inspire each other. To deepen their relationships with alumni, the program wants to offer online workshops. Sherry’s recent analysis of the program for a linkage report showed that the vast majority of alumni are back working in their communities. Sherry noted that the 25th anniversary of the program is coming up soon, and that might present an opportune time to do another full-scale evaluation of the program. The last one was done 2013.
The conversation then shifted to the endowment and the financial condition of the program. Asked whether any other funders have donated to the program besides JSF, Joanne stated there have been no other contributors except for institutional funding. However, she said GU is in a better position to promote the program as the world has changed and there is more awareness of Indigenous issues. She said the MBA-AIE program aligns with where the school wants to be in the future.
The next question involved the size of the cohorts, which have grown from an average of 6 students to as many as 12. Is the plan to continue with larger cohorts? Becky noted that while the last 2 cohorts have been large, there are no plans to continue with cohorts larger than 10. That led to another question about the day-to-day management of the program. After Stacey Chatman left in 2019, Tina Swannack oversaw the program. She left in 2022, and no one has replaced her. Ken explained that Stacey had other responsibilities in the business school besides the MBA-AIE program, including admissions. When she left, the university restructured her position. He stated that what they’re looking for is someone who can be dedicated to the program in the way that Stacey was. For now, Becky is director of all the MBA programs and is also doing the administrative work for MBA-AIE. Becky’s predecessor, Mirjeta Beqiri, stepped down in 2022 to resume full-time teaching. Claudia Rios-Jordan, a recent Gonzaga graduate, started as Graduate Academic Advisor in January and is helping Becky with the program.
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