Posts tagged with degroote.
DeGroote business school dean is resigning
The boxing match between the dean of McMaster's DeGroote School of Business and the academic faculty within it is over - the academic faculty have won a TKO.
The dean, former Charles Schwab executive Paul Bates, is resigning from his position following the release of a report by a three-person panel that "clearly concluded" that it is "essential for a change in leadership in the School."
The panel was created early this year following a report by the university's Office of Human Rights and Equity Services which found the faculty had "become a dysfunctional work environment" due to infighting about Bates, who, as a non-academic, was not accepted by many of the tenured academics in the faculty.
Bates was appointed dean in 2004 to bring the DeGroote School closer to the business world and address concerns that its competitive position relative to other business schools was hampered by a lack of industry-experienced faculty within the school.
Bates was a controversial choice as dean, as he does not hold an undergraduate degree and had no experience leading in academia.
He was very successful at improving the profile of the Business School, securing donations for an expansion of programs - including the building of a new MBA and graduate programs campus in Burlington, Ont., - and is widely popular with students at the school.
Over the years, I've interviewed Bates numerous times and have enjoyed many conversations with him regarding the direction of business education within the academy. He knowledge is second to none and I'm of the opinion that he is one of the best business-oriented Deans in the country.
It is a tribute to his character that he's stepping aside in light of this report but not leaving the school. He's moving to the Burlington campus and will take a leadership role focused "on strategy and development" as the satellite campus is being established.
With Bates gone, the faculty who poisoned the business school have won the victory they seek, but not without tremendous collateral damage to the institution.
McMaster faces the dual challenge of taming their emboldened professors at the same time as trying to find a new dean to run the school, with the knowledge that the university can no longer move in the direction of being more industry oriented.
The university will not find the best candidate for the position - those individuals will be wise enough to await an opening at another business school - someone who can juggle the infighting, quell concerns on Bay Street about sending their executives to DeGroote programs, and prevent a split between the campuses.
It's a tall order and I don't see how anyone will be able to prevent the school from splitting into two distinct entities - the undergraduate programs in Hamilton and the graduate ones in Burlington.
The one advantage they have is that the panel's report offers a road map for restructuring the school. At 36 pages, it's well worth reading for anyone following the continuing debate about the relevance of business schools within the university setting.
I wonder how many case studies will be written warning other business executives of the mistakes made by McMaster University after hiring Bates. One thing's for sure: They'll require more than 36 pages.
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JOEY COLEMAN