Dean Ronald Anderson

As 2021 comes to an end, the Fox School has so much to be proud of. We have seen great strides in the progress we’ve made towards our goals that support Educational Innovation, Research Leadership, Inclusive Culture and Community Engagement.

This year, we launched a research center on ethics, diversity and workplace culture. We brought innovative, real-world experiences into the classroom. We published in leading academic journals and we’ve supported local small businesses. We impacted policy, promoted inclusivity, advanced academic integrity and more. 

As I stated when we launched the Fox Strategic Plan 2025, this plan belongs to and guides all of us. And I’m proud to share what we have accomplished this year.

We’re living our values

Since we developed our Strategic Plan two years ago, we have been living our values, and this year was no different. We opened our doors, physically and virtually, to work with our students, alumni and donors and to earn their trust. Remaining accountable and transparent in everything we do—from our State of the School report to enhanced communication to our community—has been critical to our success this year. 

We are living our mission, which is to transform our students into responsible professionals and leaders through engagement with Fox communities committed to lifelong learning, service and the advancement of management practice.

We’re building a community around student success

Since becoming dean, I have said that my biggest priority is the student experience and student outcomes. To accomplish this, we have created an infrastructure to keep our finger on the pulse of what the future of work will be for business and in industries.

With the active engagement of our partners like the Board of Visitors, industry advisory councils and the AACSB, our accrediting body, we have made clear steps to progress forward in continuing to be a leader in providing valuable business education. We partner with industry leaders, executives and our alumni to continuously keep our curriculum up to date. Companies hire our students and alumni as employees, and the cycle continues. Our graduates innovate and continue to push forward new business practices, returning to the classroom to share their experiences.

We’re preparing our students for the future of work

In partnership with our engaged community, we’re making sure that our curriculum maps to the knowledge, skills and needs of current employers. We’re embracing data science in everything from undergraduate courses to PhD workshops. We know data is the future, and we’re teaching our students to be data responsible.

We also need to ensure that our future leaders have competencies in areas like DEI. We are teaching our students the skills, knowledge and awareness they need to have difficult—and different—conversations than leaders of the past. This is especially thanks to efforts from the Center of Ethics, Diversity and Workplace Culture (CEDWC), the Fox and STHM DEI Council, and others from around our school.

We’re leveraging research expertise for the betterment of business

Research is a foundation of both education and business. With support from centers and institutes like the Translational Research Center, our faculty researchers have shared their thought leadership and real-world impact more than ever before.

We’re translating insights into plain, actionable language through platforms like the Knowledge Hub. We’re having conversations with business, community and nonprofit leaders to ask the right questions. And we’re using research to touch society, transform communities, upend or refine management practices and influence policy decisions. 

We’re making education more accessible

We recognize the need to make education more accessible and are making investments to help level the playing field. Through the B4USoar program, which helps Philadelphia high school students get a head start in college, we welcomed a new cohort of 46 students this fall, for a total of 154 students over the course of the initiative. We entered a partnership with 12 new local high schools. We are working on new scholarship opportunities, especially for transfer students and underrepresented students as they enter the business world.

I am filled with a sense of drive, hope and possibility as we put our Strategic Plan into action. I’m proud of the education that our students receive at the Fox School. And I am grateful for all our faculty and staff who have worked tremendously hard to provide our students with the best quality education and experience that we can offer. This work could not have been done without such a dedicated and driven community. This year, we closed a chapter as we opened new ones. I can’t wait to see what we’ll do next. Together, we can build a better future for all.