5 Questions with the Babson Olin Dean of Admissions
In our latest installment of the MetroMBA “5 Questions” series, we speak with Dr. Monica Moore, Dean of Admissions at Babson College’s F.W. Olin Graduate School. She talks with us about the type of MBA applicants Olin looks for, its hands-on approach, and explains the importance of applicant engagement.
What type of MBA students is Babson Olin most interested in?
“Babson is #1 for entrepreneurship so, in some ways, that gives some insight into the type of student. But it’s not always the person who has already started or who plans to singularly start their business. When we speak about entrepreneurship, it’s also entrepreneurial thinking. So, while Babson is known for entrepreneurship, there is an act of being entrepreneurial that also lends itself nicely to the type of MBA student that we seek and who does well here.
Characteristics that we look for include:
- Someone who is a quick study because in order to be entrepreneurial you have to use data and facts but also be very swift in understanding going to market and reiterating as you go.
- Having less fear—or more courage—to not stop at what could seem like the first right answer. Those who are entrepreneurial know that something may seem like a fine product, but that’s not the end. You need to go to market, test, learn, and get feedback from the customer. Then, you develop version 2.0 and continue to reiterate as you go. This is the type of mindset and personality style that goes well with the Babson MBA.
The common denominator is being entrepreneurial, but it’s really about how you understand the act of being entrepreneurial that makes the difference in terms of what that looks like in an individual student.”
What is one area of the Babson Olin MBA student experience that you want applicants to pay attention to?
“The robust nature and the activities present in all of Centers. We have many Centers, and while a number schools do, some approaches follow more of a “look but don’t touch” attitude.
Our Centers are very hands-on, offering programming on a regular basis, not periodic or once-in-a-while basis. It’s a regular part of the Babson experience that you’ll interact with our many Centers. Female students will interact with our CWEL Center (Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership) for women in entrepreneurship. Others will interact with The Lewis Institute about social entrepreneurialism.
We have different Centers and they are part of the Babson experience that’s so ingrained in who we are that it would be peculiar for someone to come to graduate school at Babson and not be engaged with a Center.”
What is one thing a Babson Olin MBA candidate can do for the best chance of getting accepted?
Dr. Monica Moody Moore, Dean of Graduate Admissions
“Know the school that you’re applying to. I can’t say enough about not only doing the homework about what you see on the website—a number of students do that already—but taking personal engagement to the next step. Engage with an alum. Talk to or meet a current student. Even if you can’t meet up in person, which is not always possible (we have lots of students in lots of places), you can still meet up virtually to have some real tangible knowledge of the school. You have to do your homework beyond the website.
In particular, alumni engagement is vital. We consider it a hallmark of the Babson experience. They engage with students at the beginning, not just when you’re about to graduate; it’s a part of the whole experience. In addition, our faculty make phone calls to prospective students as a routine part of who we are. Smaller schools can often offer these unique opportunities with more agility, but it’s also something we’ve made a key part of our culture.
So, for applicants to improve their chances of getting accepted, the more you know and the more you have experience prior to even applying or while you’re in that process, the stronger applicant you’ll be. For example, different insights and understandings will help you write your essay and position yourself. Often, it’s not just about admissions but also about gaining scholarship dollars, so the more you know because you’ve engaged, the better applicant you’ll be.”
Are there any new courses, clubs, specialty tracks, or events that MBA applicants should know about?
“We have a new center that was just launched: the Weissman Foundry Center. It has a physical footprint as well as a scholarly footprint. It’s about innovation across undergraduate and graduate programming, and it’s another way that design thinking, innovation, and social entrepreneurship are all coming together under one hub and umbrella. We’ll have events there, seminars, programming, and more.”
What fun activity should every student do while living in MA?
“There’s always the sporting events—I can’t leave that out. Between baseball, football, and hockey, which we’re so known for, there’s always an event to attend. But, I also hear of our students talk about the cultural experience. There’s the Freedom Trail, which explores historic sites and visits a collection of museums, churches, meeting hours, and parks. Then, there’s the Boston Duck Tours, which give people an understanding of Massachusetts as a state and Boston as a part of that. I’m a transplant to the New England area, and I’ve been on the Duck Tour, and I always take visitors on it as well.
“I’m a transplant to the New England area, and I’ve been on the Duck Tour, and I always take visitors on it as well,” Moore says.
Find a way to get the facts about MA in a fun and light-hearted way. We like to encourage people to get out into the city between Boston and Cambridge and all its nuances and just explore. People think of sports most often, but don’t forget the history of Massachusetts as a state and the role that the region plays.”
You can find more information on admissions at the Babson College F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business here.
New Dean Will Lead Cornell SC Johnson College of Business
Economist and labor market scholar Kevin F. Hallock has been appointed dean of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business beginning December 15, Provost Michael Kotlikoff announced yesterday afternoon. The Cornell College of Business, formed in early 2016, integrates the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, the School of Hotel Administration, and the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management.
An experienced administrator, Hallock has served as dean and professor in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) since 2015. His new term as dean of the College of Business was approved by the Cornell Board of Trustees executive committee and will run through June 30, 2024. Kotlikoff said in a statement that a search for a permanent ILR School dean to replace Hallock will begin immediately and an interim dean will be named next week.
“As an accomplished economist, scholar, and administrator, Kevin provides the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business with the leadership to maximize its enormous potential,” Kotlikoff said in a statement. “His thorough familiarity with Cornell’s administrative workings is a significant asset, and the college will be well served by his deep understanding of business administration theory and practice.”
Overseeing the combined schools of the Johnson College of Business is a big job. The decision to unify the three schools under a single umbrella was reached because it promised to make a wider range of opportunities available to students while also increasing Cornell’s ability to draw top recruiters and faculty. But Founding Dean Soumitra Dutta stepped down unexpectedly in February, and L. Joseph Thomas has been serving as interim dean since he left.
Hallock Brings Record of Strong Leadership
As ILR dean, Hallock’s accomplishments were many, including guiding the school through a strategic planning process, investing in student experience and well-being, and introducing a school-wide initiative to unite students, staff, and faculty around a common theme, such as “Technology and the Evolution of Work,” which has been this year’s theme. He also brings fundraising prowess, having raised resources for new investments in IRL faculty and research, expanded human resources, and a transition of ILR’s New York City office to a new home at 570 Lexington Ave, slated to open in January 2019.
Kevin Hallock, the next dean of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. Photo credit: Jesse Winter Photography
“Grateful and Excited to Start This New Chapter at Cornell”
Hallock said he is “grateful and excited to start this new chapter at Cornell” but realizes he has his work cut out for him.
“The Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, in its infancy, faces challenges, like many new organizations, and those challenges are part of what attracted me to this role,” he said in a statement. “But there is also enormous opportunity, outstanding strength, and unique advantages in the college and its three schools. I am excited to work with its talented staff, students, faculty, and alumni, and I am exceptionally optimistic about the future of the college.”
The College of Business notes that it has already celebrated several milestones in its first couple of years. Applications for open faculty positions in 2017-18 increased five-fold over prior years in some areas, the school reports. Not only that, more faculty who have been offered positions have accepted them than ever before, resulting in the successful hires of 20 new faculty. Undergraduate application volume at both the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management and the School of Hotel Administration grew by 80 percent between 2016 and 2018. Application volume at the Johnson Graduate School of Management is down just slightly year over year, less than one percentage point. This puts Johnson ahead of many of its U.S. peer business schools, which experienced even greater declines.
An expert on executive compensation, compensation design, and labor markets, Hallock’s research has focused on the complexity of executive compensation contracts and corporate performance and been featured in academic journals including The American Economic Review, the Journal of Corporate Finance and the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis. The Sloan Foundation and the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education are among many organizations that have helped to fund his research.
Long History of Involvement at Cornell
A longstanding member of the larger Cornell family, Hallock joined the faculty of ILR in 2005 and became its dean in 2015. During his tenure, he also has played an active role on several university committees, including Cornell’s Financial Policy Committee, the Provost’s Budget Model Task Force, and the Cornell Student Experience Initiative’s steering committee. In 2009, he was the founding director of Cornell’s Institute for Compensation Studies.
Outside of Cornell, he has also been active as a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research since 2003. And in 2013, he was elected a fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources. He has consulted and served as an expert witness on issues of compensation, executive compensation, stock price reactions to labor market events, and antitrust in labor markets.
Hallock holds a bachelor’s degree in economics summa cum laude from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and master’s and doctoral degrees in economics from Princeton University.
Learn more about the newly appointed dean of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business.
This article has been edited and republished with permissions from Clear Admit.
Columbia Business School Dean Hubbard Steps Down After 15 Years
After 15 years, Glenn Hubbard, the dean of Columbia Business School (CBS), has announced he will be stepping down from his position. Columbia University president Lee C. Bollinger made the resignation announcement, which will be effective on June 30, 2019. After that point, Hubbard will resume his faculty role as a professor of finance and economics.
Northwestern Kellogg Names Kathleen Hagerty Interim Dean
Following last year’s surprising announcement that Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management dean Sally Blount will step down from her role, provost Jonathan Holloway has announced that Kathleen Hagerty will serve as the interim dean while the school continues its search for a long-term replacement.
Blount, one of the only female deans to ever lead an M7 business school, has left behind an extraordinary legacy of fundraising and academic development. Her replacement certainly has big shoes to fill.
Holloway believes that Hagerty will do an excellent job in her new position as interim dean. “I am confident that Kathleen will provide a seamless transition when dean Blount steps down later this summer and until we conclude our search,” Holloway said.
Both Hagerty’s record of service and pedigree—including a Berkeley Haas MBA and a Stanford Ph.D.—may prove that the confidence is not misplaced.
Kellogg’s New Interim Dean Kathleen Hagerty
Hagerty has been with Northwestern Kellogg in a teaching or leadership position for more than 30 years. She currently holds the First Chicago Professorship in Finance, and her research focuses on the micro-structure of securities markets, disclosure regulation, insider trader regulation, and the efficacy of self-regulatory organizations. Hagerty’s research has been published in various books as well as in prestigious finance journals such as the Quarterly Journal of Economics and the Journal of Financial Intermediation.
Hagerty currently serves as the senior associate dean of faculty and research at Kellogg, a position she previously held from 2010 to 2015. She also has occupied various other leadership positions during her time at Northwestern, including two terms as chair of the finance department and a two-year term as faculty director of Kellogg’s Ph.D. programs.
Hagerty has also gained a reputation as an excellent scholar and respected faculty leader who can attract and retain world-class academic talent in an extremely competitive market. In addition, she has contributed immensely to the development of various academic programs for both graduate and undergraduate students at Kellogg.
Hagerty shared her thoughts about being appointed interim dean:
“I’m honored to assume this role and add to the myriad accomplishments of the Kellogg team under Dean Blount’s leadership. I look forward to partnering with faculty colleagues, as well as our staff, students, alumni and broader community, to create knowledge and educate the next generation of business leaders.”
Blount, who officially steps down on August 31, is quite happy with the announcement of Hagerty as the interim dean, describing her as a valuable member of the Kellogg community.
“As a long-time member of the Kellogg faculty, no one knows the school better or has a stronger commitment to our mission than Kathleen,” Blount remarked.
She continued, “She is a deep believer in business education and a highly effective leader. I’m confident that she will maintain Kellogg’s upward trajectory and ensure continuity of everything we love about Kellogg.”
After she completes her term as interim dean, Hagerty will move into the Northwestern University Office of the Provost and serve as associate provost for faculty. In this new role, she will support about 3,700 faculty members as well as develop and execute the strategic vision of faculty.
Given her knowledge of the Kellogg community and its various members, Hagerty will be able to continue the work that dean Blount has done over the past seven years and create a rock solid foundation for the next dean, whenever they may arrive. Stay tuned with Clear Admit as the search for the next Northwestern Kellogg dean continues.
This article has been edited and republished with permissions from our sister site, Clear Admit.
What is Going on at the Cornell Johnson College of Business?
Cornell Business Dean Soumitra Dutta has officially stepped down from his role, but no one is saying why.
Soumitra Dutta, who has served as the first-ever dean of the S.C. Johnson College of Business at Cornell University, resigned abruptly yesterday, and neither the school nor Dutta has provided any reason for his sudden departure, according to a report in the Cornell Daily Sun.
The College of Business, launched in July 2016, merged the Johnson Graduate School of Management, the School of Hotel Administration, and the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management. Dutta also oversaw the Cornell Tech MBA program at Cornell’s campus on Roosevelt Island in New York City.
Cornell Provost Michael Kotlikoff sent an email to business college students and employees to say that he had accepted Dutta’s resignation, effective immediately, but he also did not offer an explanation for his abrupt departure, according to the Sun report.
Two days after the departure, the Cornell Sun is still looking for answers, leading with the recently released article headlined, “Cornell Silent for Second Day as Mystery of Business Dean’s Exit Grows.”
The official university response to questions has been that Cornell “does not comment on private personnel matters,” the Sun reported. Dutta has not responded to emails. His wife, Lourdes Casanova, a senior lecturer at Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management, also declined to comment when approached by reporters at the couple’s home yesterday evening. “I’m sorry but we cannot say anything,” she told the Sun.
In his email announcing Dutta’s departure, Kotlikoff shared that L. Joseph Thomas, who serves as Johnson dean from 2007 to 2012, will assume Dutta’s role on an interim basis as Cornell searches for a permanent dean.
For more on Dutta’s background and the intrigue surrounding his sudden departure, read the full Cornell Daily Sun article.
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Don Jacobs, Visionary Former Kellogg Dean, Passes Away at 90
Some sad news out of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management — Don Jacobs, Kellogg’s dean from 1975 until 2001 and professor of finance since 1957, recently passed away. Continue reading…
