自肯·科尔威尔博士.D.我拿了 领导控制 as dean of the Monfort College of 业务 July 1, he has been getting to know the faculty, staff, students, alumni and the broader UNC community. 这位资深院长 been listening and learning while shaping his vision for the college of business and 他想把它带到哪里去.  

As a dean with a strong predilection for action, Colwell is transitioning well to MCB首席执行官. 他为这个角色带来了丰富的经验. “纵横交错 the country twice” during his career spanning more than three decades, Colwell is a seasoned investment professional with expertise in strategic management and entrepreneurship as well as an experienced academic, with 10 years as dean as well as myriad administrative, 教学和领导角色. 所以，他非常适合这项任务. 

“UNC is in an interesting, fast-growing region of the country,” said Colwell. “我看到 regional public universities like UNC as being an economic driver for the region and the center of the community, coordinating the great work that is being done by the 城市和其他.”  

Colwell has spent the first months on the job assessing critical priorities, evaluating the organization and developing strategies that enable MCB to adapt and thrive in the current and future business environments while building connections and relationships.  

He has framed MCB’s playbook to include these priorities, which build on the college’s historical strengths and pursue new opportunities:  

1. Develop more online education programs that go beyond traditional undergraduate education. 
2. Expand our graduate and professional business programs with areas of concentration to deepen and supplement working professionals’ business knowledge. 
3. Launch new undergraduate concentrations focused on in-demand areas such as data, analytics, 数字营销和技术等.  
4. Create an adult degree completion program to encourage former students who didn’t graduate to earn their undergraduate degree at UNC in a couple of years by applying work experience, past college credits and other credentials. 

Just as growing student enrollment is a top priority for UNC, Colwell sees MCB’s need to grow as essential to the college’s future success. 

“MCB is too small, for UNC, for the quality of education we provide, for the quality of our faculty, our technology and student resources and support,” said Colwell. He cites MCB’s extensive student support systems and resources, both in the classroom and once students launch their careers, as one of the main reasons the B-school is well positioned to effectively prepare and serve its students.  

“MCB will be a business school to watch,” said Colwell. “感谢巨大的 investment and generosity of the Monfort family, we have the resources to bring to bear on student success, career services, study abroad and more. 这让我们感到困惑 远远超过其他商学院.” 

This financial and academic support for our students is essential, explains Colwell, as they are working multiple jobs and have family responsibilities in addition to 他们的课业负担.  

从工业界到学术界 

Colwell brings more than 35 years of combined industry and academic experience to 他的角色,. Prior to joining UNC he was a former dean and professor at the University 休斯顿-维多利亚商学院的教授.  

Previously, he served as professor and dean of the School of 业务 at Central Connecticut State University and associate professor and dean of the School of 业务, Public Administration and Information Sciences at Long Island University in Brooklyn. He has held other academic and leadership roles at the University of Miami School of 业务 Administration and Drexel University LeBow College of 业务. 

Although new to UNC, Colwell is not new to the West. 事实上，他认为自己 a Westerner, even though he was born 出side of Seattle and grew up in suburban Washington, D.C. He spent 10 years in San Francisco, launching his professional career at Charles Schwab in online trading during a time of explosive growth in the 1990s.  

After 10 years of the fast and furious pace and extremely long hours of retail brokerage, 科尔威尔感到精疲力竭. So, he paused his career to pursue an MBA at San Francisco State University, immersing himself in thinking and studying business theory rather than buying and selling stocks, bonds and other financial investments. 这个业务 education was key to his future and built on his problem-solving skills acquired from an undergraduate degree in Biology at McGill University in Montreal. 

Enjoying the reflection, analysis and learning during his MBA program and at the encouragement of his professors, Colwell took the leap and pursued a doctoral degree in Management with an emphasis in Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship at the University of 俄勒冈州. 这使他走上了通往学术界的道路. 

MCB是个不错的选择

Colwell was attracted to UNC as an emerging Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), having served as dean at three other HSIs and Minority Serving (MSI) institutions. 鉴于 his time at both private and public universities, Colwell prefers smaller public universities where he feels he can really make an impact on students’ lives.  

“Our students don’t have many of the privileges students at other universities do,” said Colwell, who is driven by a deep passion for the work that he does. “我们站 出. 我们的学生没有资格. 我们的学生埋头苦干. 他们很谦虚. 雇主喜欢我们的学生. 

“While I enjoyed my time [at Drexel and University of Miami], it was inherently unsatisfying…. because the students were coming with so much privilege, frankly. 我不觉得 there was a larger purpose to what I was doing,” explained Colwell.  

“So, I started looking at schools that were more interested in educating underrepresented minorities or underserved populations, helping them get jobs and moving them up to 中产阶级.” 

When asked ab出 the value of a business degree, Colwell references the top 20 salaries 哪些是在商业领域. “商科毕业生有工作，所以有 immediate payoff,” said Colwell, adding that this is especially important for this generation of students who want to see a strong return on their investment. 

“MCB对学生来说有巨大的价值. 我们在商业和会计方面获得认可 by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of 业务. 全球只有5%的学校 赢得了这种认可. 

“我们做到了:我们提供了良好的价值教育. 我们的毕业生能找到好工作. 他们 获得不错的薪水. 他们过着美好的生活.” 

MCB’s accolades speak well to the quality of its programs: It has the No. 1项目 in the world for Accounting Information Systems and Experimental Accounting Information 系统,不. 12 in the world for Experimental Financials and No. 23 .在这个世界上 实验审计. It is the only business school recognized by the Colorado Commission 高等教育的杰出项目.  

Furthermore, MCB is part of the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative and has incorporated 贯穿整个课程的道德领导. 所有学生毕业时成绩都是a certification in ethical leadership from the National Association of State Boards 的会计.  

A 21st 世纪商业教育:下一步是什么? 

As markets face constant disruption on multiple fronts, business education needs are 改变. 商学院总是需要适应. 新院长分享了他对元素的看法 良好的本科商业教育. 

技术技能. Astechnology is an ever-increasing part of people’s everyday lives, the demand for tech-savvy 有能力的商务人士也在不断增加. 融入更多的应用技术技能 into business education is important, said Colwell. 其中包括实习 are required in MCB, hands-on work experiences, corporate visits, job shadowing and more that help students develop a strong portfolio of work for future employers. UNC的 strong alumni network across the state and the country provides helpful connections 小熊帮助小熊的MCB学生. 

“雇主想要更多的技术技能. 教授学生这些技能使他们能够 直接进入这些角色，”科尔威尔说.  

Staying attuned to industry is critical in order to equip graduates with the knowledge, experiences and skills to excel in the ever-evolving, fast-paced world of business. A 2021德勤报告 on the future of tech reveals that the prevalence of tools such as artificial intelligence 云计算只会越来越多.  

在他们的 最近的研究 on the future of cyber, research reveals companies’ top two priorities from the previous 报告中，云移号离. 第2位到第1位. .1、取代数据分析. With those shifts, comes an explosive need for people with the tech skills to understand the role cyber plays in digital transformation priorities, especially when it comes 到云、数据分析和5G.  

证书和专业. In addition, introducing more specialized certificate programs and micro credentials to advance students' and alumni careers is essential, according to Colwell, adding these programs can not only serve business majors, but also humanities majors and others looking for business credentials to show future employers.  

微证书和徽章 small, bite-sized but well-designed courses that students take asynchronously or through 混合式学习，根据 Edalex这是一家教育技术公司. 他们的 simplicity and flexibility in learning make then highly attractive to both students 和专业人士.  

“I think we need to get into that business in a very big way,” remarked Colwell. 

Colwell envisions these types of credentials in complementary, interdisciplinary programs at UNC in areas such as information systems, digital marketing, finance, analytics 和其他人. He explains that they may be offered as standalone credentials as well as stackable credentials and/or embedded into academic curricula. 

对于商学院来说， the status quo is incongruous with the ever-改变 business world. 在合作 with MCB faculty, the college will build curricula and programs that will serve the next generation of students in today and tomorrow’s business landscapes. 

“这就是我们所做的，”科尔韦尔说. “Our collective expertise in management, accounting, technology and entrepreneurship and ethical leadership will help us build a culture of excellence to grow and strengthen the MCB community. 最终，我们需要的是学生 to be able to tackle important problems in business and make a positive difference 在他们的社区里.” 

——黛比·法里斯写的