Last week a group of Louisiana HBCU Business Schools co-hosted the 13th Annual National HBCU Business Deans Roundtable Summit at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in New Orleans. The event was co-hosted by Xavier University, Southern University at New Orleans and Southern University Baton Rouge. The theme of the summit was, “The Role of Energy & Human Capital in Economic Development from a Global Perspective. There were several informative sessions including two from the major business school accrediting associations, ACBSP and AACSB. Lt. General Russel (retired) also addressed the Deans on “Leadership in the New Normal “and encouraged the group to make sacrifices that will generate creativity and innovation.
One of the highlights of the conference was the panel of Deans led by veteran, career, and retired Business School Dean, Dean Quiester Craig. Joining Dean Craig on the panel were past and present Business School Deans Joe Ricks, Barbara Jones, Otis Thomas, and Tejinder Sara. There were several suggestions for sitting and aspiring deans, which seem to lend themselves to a string of alphabet shorthand. Deans should follow the Cs: Courage, Commitment, Creative and Communicate. Deans should follow the Es’: Enthusiastic, Energetic, Engage, Enhance and Enjoy. Deans should follow the Ps: Persist, Plan, and Pride. Deans should be ambassadors for their programs; they should be storytellers for their schools, students, and programs. Finally, Deans should help, support and mentor each other; that is the goal of the Roundtable to provide professional development and inspiration to participating Deans.
Originally published on Linkedin
