Dear Members of the Atkinson Community,
Seeing all the beautiful cherry blossoms on campus and feeling the warmer temperatures, I think we can finally say “Happy Spring” here in Oregon. I hope you’re enjoying the change of seasons (finally!) and feeling rested and recharged from Spring Break last week.
First, some news to share:
- We have a new Director of Development! I’m delighted to tell you that David Hanna has been appointed Director of Development for Atkinson. I look forward to introducing him to you at our May 12 school meeting.
- A search is underway for a new Director of the Executive Development Center (EDC). A search committee comprising myself as chair, Contributing Assistant Professor Brad Avakian , Director of University Grants Carroll Deason, Senior Associate Dean of PNCA Kate Copeland, Vice President of Salem Health Group Katie Dobler MBA’21, and Assistant Provost of Academic Planning and Accreditation Christine Shanaberger will convene soon to screen applications and select candidates for interviews.
- We are continuing to move forward with work to secure NASPAA re-accreditation of our full-time MBA program. Under the leadership of Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Romana Autrey, work is underway to finish responses to the report from the site visit team and NASPAA’s accreditation commission. Overall, the site team visit was very successful and we are optimistic about our prospects for re-accreditation.
- Early next month we will say goodbye to Manny Machado, who has been serving as Career Advisor, Business and Entrepreneurship in the Career Development Office. Manny has taken a position as a Career Specialist at University of California-Merced. On behalf of Atkinson, I want to express my gratitude to Manny for his excellent work and very able assistance to our students. I wish him the best of success in his new position in California.
In a separate article in this newsletter, I will provide the latest update on the implementation of our strategic plan. I look forward to providing you regular updates going forward. Stay tuned!
Best Wishes,
Örn Bodvarsson
Dean & Professor of Economics