Penn State University’s Smeal College of Business has named Kara Keenan as the new managing director of Smeal’s Executive MBA Program. As managing director, Keenan will work with members of the Smeal community to maintain the excellence of Smeal’s executive education program and lead admissions and recruitment initiatives. Keenan will also support the continued development of Smeal’s alumni network. Keenan officially began her new role at Smeal on January 13.
Keenan expressed enthusiasm for her new role: “For more than a decade, the Smeal Executive MBA Program has represented the strength of the Penn State name in Philadelphia, and I’m looking forward to growing the program’s potential even further in the coming years.”
While Keenan is new to Smeal, she is not new to the fields of educational management and business education. She served as the associate director of the Medical Education Program and the Chief Learning Officer Program at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. Keenan also held leadership positions at Columbia Business School and INSEAD. She holds a master’s degree from Columbia University in higher education administration.
“[Keenan] has a deep appreciation for the unique dimensions of the executive MBA format and how it can serve high-potential students and their organizations,” said Charles H. Whiteman, the John and Becky Surma Dean of the Smeal College of Business. “Kara will play a critical leadership role as we look to grow the Smeal EMBA in the Philadelphia region.”
Penn State Smeal’s Executive MBA Program is a 21-month program that includes coursework focused on the challenges faced by students’ businesses, an international residency, communication training, and personalized coaching. Classes meet on alternate weekends at the ACE Conference Center in Philadelphia.
