“What really hooked me about Cal Poly was when I read your philosophy about the teacher-scholar model,” Richard Mathieu, Orfalea College of Business dean finalist, said.
Kyle McCarty
Special to Mustang News
One of two finalists to take over as dean of the Orfalea College of Business spoke Tuesday at a forum attended by students, faculty and staff.
The candidate, Richard Mathieu, is currently the associate dean for Academic Affairs at James Madison University’s business college.
Mathieu began by explaining how engagement with the business community and emphasizing experiential learning have been important aspects of his career.
“I really saw value that could be added for students through engagement with industry,” Mathieu said.
In his time at James Madison University, Mathieu has helped faculty connect with industry partners, which in turn has raised money for scholarships, faculty development, research and more. Enrollment tripled during this time, Mathieu said.
Mathieu was attracted to the Orfalea College of Business’ balance of teaching and research.
“What really hooked me about Cal Poly was when I read your philosophy about the teacher-scholar model,” Mathieu said. “Teaching and research — it truly is an ‘and.’”
Mathieu said he is also attracted to Cal Poly for its focus on student success, as well as the quality of its students and faculty.
A dean needs to acquire private funds and partnerships, recruit and retain faculty, involve stakeholders in conversations about the priorities of the business college and communicate within the college and to its alumni, Mathieu said.
His first potential task would be to engage Cal Poly’s business school alumni, a crucial network for students, he said.
“I would work on a plan to create a national footprint for Cal Poly,” Mathieu said.
Mathieu fielded questions from the crowd during the event. An attendee asked what it would take to move the business college to the next level.
“Ultimately what takes the college to the next level is the faculty,” Mathieu said.
A business college can build success when small groups of faculty gather around an idea, Mathieu said. Faculty can then develop the idea into research and hands-on learning experiences for students.
Another attendee asked Mathieu for concrete examples of how he would retain faculty in the business college.
Mathieu said the equivalent of college-based fees at James Madison University were used for research and teaching grants, rather than being used for the base salaries of professors. Recognizing faculty achievements and building a positive culture are also important aspects of retention, Mathieu said.
When asked about the role of graduate programs in the business college, Mathieu said ramping up large new graduate programs in the next ten years would not make sense for Cal Poly. Strategies to boost struggling graduate programs should be tried before a degree is cut, Mathieu said.
Mathieu closed by describing himself as an “open-door manager” who prefers to gather everyone involved with an issue for a discussion, rather than managing through individual, closed meetings.
The second candidate for dean, Scott Dawson of Portland State University, will speak at 4 p.m. Thursday in the Advanced Technology Lab (building 007), room 2.