Status Report for Goddard School of Business & Economics
Dean, Matthew Mouritsen
Spring 2022 – Mid-Term Review
Thank you for taking the time to review this status report for the Goddard School of Business &
Economics (GSBE) which highlights, primarily, the past two calendar years. The summary that follows
recognizes the GSBE’s shared accomplishments and strategic initiatives as well as the challenges we face
together. Our GSBE team is made up of 50+ full-time faculty, dozens of adjunct faculty, nearly 20 staff
and student aids/tutors, thousands of students, and countless stakeholders from donors to advisory
council members to alumni to employers. Although this report includes the names of some individuals
who directly contributed to projects, in no way is it exhaustive as each of our faculty and staff have
made more contributions than I can individually attribute.
Building on the momentum we created in Fall 2019 while I was serving as Interim Dean, we have
embraced multiple transformative strategic initiatives along with the multi-faceted challenges
associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. By transformative, I am referring to the impact of these
initiatives on individual student’s academic and career preparation and on the GSBE’s curriculum and
impact and engagement in our communities. In addition to our pandemic response and ongoing
strategic efforts, the GBSE has continued to make progress while facing budget cuts and enrollment
pressures. We embraced compassion for one another as a rule when the pandemic began and that has
helped us through some challenging times. The image below describes the mission, vision, values,
principles, strategic initiatives, and learning outcomes of the GSBE. This document, created as a college-
wide effort in 2019, acts as an invaluable decision-making guide for our faculty, staff, committees and
students. It also serves as a comprehensive yet concise source of talking points for all when engaging
with students, advisory council members, donors, employers, job candidates, and other stakeholders.
Goddard School Strategic Initiatives
Building Bridges to Goddard
Our staff and faculty have spent countless hours developing and refining recruitment, retention, and
completion strategies. We have worked to develop relationships of trust with faculty, administrators,
and counselors within Weber, Ogden and Davis School Districts. In 2021, we launched one such initiative
called “Lunch with Leaders.” This program is strategically designed to connect our staff and faculty with
individual students to cultivate interest, build trust and provide early insight into degrees and career
exploration. This program was piloted at Ogden and Weber High Schools. This first year the program
successfully reached 75 business-minded high school students and directly led to interest and
enrollment. Learning from this pilot program, our goal is to continue by scaling to other high schools. In
order to reach this goal, we need additional staff and funding. In addition to one-on-one engagement,
we have supported business events at these schools. This close collaboration has recently led to a joint
effort to launch a new on-campus business case competition hosted by GSBE with up to 500 FBLA and
DECA students state-wide.
Our attention has also focused on internal bridges to Goddard. By combining the efforts of our advisors
and marketing manager, we have created targeted communications plans for individual students at each
stage of their academic lifecycle knowing that good, consistent recruitment and communication can
improve retention and matriculation. They have used data to individualize our messaging to students to
help us engage with them early and often.
We have explored additional Concurrent Enrollment (CE) courses, beyond our two offerings in
Entrepreneurship and Intro to Business, to enhance degree momentum from high school to the GSBE.
Other degrees on campus, mainly in Computer Science, Professional Sales, and Health Professions, allow
students to bring many courses and credits into their degrees. In fact, one program includes our Intro to
Business course as an elective toward a bachelor degree while we do not. That same program teaches
CE Marketing in high schools though it does not transfer to our business degrees, which surprises
students. There are complexities to consider in adopting potential Concurrent Enrollment courses, i.e.
high school teacher qualifications, time between high school and GSBE enrollment, capacity to engage
with students in these courses, and student quality. From this work, we have identified that additional
CE offerings could build stronger bridges to the GSBE.
After a break in 2020 due to COVID, the Early Executive Leadership Academy (EELA) was successfully
reconvened in 2021. Building on the EELA model, and thanks to the vision, work, and support of
Loisanne Kattelman and Niki Tonks, we received funding and support from the UACPA to launch “Money
Camp” in 2021 with ongoing engagement activities with high school participants. These two summer
camps are drawing students to the Goddard School. More funding could lead to additional topic-specific
academies such as MIS, economics, entrepreneurship, or even support a girls-in-STEM camp which is an
area our EDI team has identified as a gap in our current enrollment demographics.
Following the direction of our Provost, we have also organized a College Success Team including internal
advising, marketing, staff and faculty, with the addition of university data and enrollment specialists.
This team is led by Brandon Koford.
Transforming the Learning Environment
COVID transformed the learning environment in ways we did not anticipate at our strategic planning
retreat in 2019 at which time we proposed a project to “change the culture of learning.” As a result of
the pandemic, faculty transformed their teaching skills and pedagogies toward effective online and
virtual teaching. This was not a one-time effort. Faculty have continued to adapt, refine, and improve
their teaching in all delivery modes. Faculty have noted that there are many challenges of teaching
during the pandemic, including the demands that come from engaging with students between
semesters and on weekends. Aside from the potential for burnout occurring during the pandemic,
mental health has become an area of focus for faculty, staff, and students.
Thanks to the efforts of Therese Grijalva, Pat Leavitt and many others, we remodeled WB 203 (Bill Child
Room) using $40,000 in Perkins Funding. Faculty now use this classroom for collaborative learning.
Programmatically, Brandon Stoddard and Dave Noack worked closely to create an Online
Entrepreneurship Certificate using 1 credit-hour courses instead of the previous 3 credit-hour model. To
launch this new certificate, and with the support of federal Cares Act funding administered through
Utah’s Learn & Work program, in 2020 and early 2021 we awarded 60+ scholarships ($111K) to students
at WSU, the Ogden-Weber Technical College, the Davis Technical College, and from the community.
Building on the lessons learned during the pandemic about virtual/online learning, many in GSBE are
exploring multiple pathways to degrees by delivery mode, location, and time to better accommodate
student demand. One example is the launch of an MBA virtual pathway to meet student demand locally
and outside our traditional service area. This new pathway has enabled us to offer additional sections of
courses thus reducing class size (an issue identified in the last MBA Program Review). The program is
being implemented in self-support mode with Continuing Education with revenue and residual sharing
with the Provost’s Office, Continuing Education, and GSBE. This model will allow the Provost to
accumulate funds, once the program has proven its demand, that can be used to provide more
permanent funding for faculty and program expenses. The MBA’s virtual pathway will also be able to
deliver its five certificates outside our area, three of which were launched in 20-21 through Learn &
Work initiatives. For example, we can pursue offering Aerospace and Contract Management curriculum
to Air Force bases other than Hill. The MBA also launched a new Graduate Certificate in Business
Development that merges entrepreneurship, market planning, analytics, and sales into a single
credential. Offering these certificates is key in meeting the demand for stackable credentials that lead to
further enrollment and alignment with workforce upskilling needs.
Faculty have continued to provide assurance of learning across multiple delivery modes, which leads to
curriculum improvements. With the help and guidance of Jim Turner and Karen Hicks who co-chair the
curriculum committee, these changes have been approved by Faculty Senate. One specific innovation is
a class called Critical Thinking for Leaders, launched as part of the strategic initiative described below.
The curricular innovations related to technology and analytics are highlighted below.
Integrating & Expanding Technology, Analytics, & Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum
With the support of Learn & Work program grants, we awarded over $400,000 in scholarships to over 40
students enrolled in new MBA certificates. Thanks to the tireless work of so many faculty and staff, we
have expanded our technology and analytics offerings with new credentials & accompanying courses to
better prepare GSBE students to work in the tech-sector:
Data Analytics Essentials Certificate (undergraduate). Stacks to the Minor in Data Analytics.
o Business Computer Skills
o Intro to Business Analytics
o Business Analytics with Python
o Business Intelligence
Minor in Data Analytics (in collaboration with the School of Computing)
o Intro to Business Analytics
o Data Mining for Business
o Business Machine Learning
o Business Intelligence
Graduate Certificate in Business Analytics (Stand-alone or as part of an MBA)
o Applications of Decision Models
o Data Visualization using Tableau
o Data Mining for Business
o Forecasting for Business
Graduate Certificate in Cyber Security (Stand-alone or as part of an MBA)
o Cyber Security
o Penetration Testing
o Networking
o Cloud Computing
We have integrated technology and analytics into existing courses and degrees to better prepare
specific majors. The following provides examples, though not a complete inventory, of course
enhancements implemented by many faculty members:
Major Courses in Specific Disciplines utilizing Technology and Analytics
Accounting majors
• Accounting Data Analytics (new course)
• Auditing using AI tools, learning about Blockchain
• Integration of Tableau across multiple accounting courses
Marketing majors
• Marketing Research (using R)
• Internet Marketing
Economics majors
• Econometrics (Stata in virtual lab). Included in the Data Science MS degree
• Research Methods
• Data Analytics Student Group: Data-Science, community project-based approach using
Python (Jupyter Notebooks and Colaboratory by Google)
Supply Chain Management majors
• Intro to Business Analytics
• Spreadsheet Modeling for Prescriptive Analytics
Management Information Systems
• Cybersecurity, analytics, and emerging technology (blockchain) are taught throughout
the curriculum. The faculty will also be proposing a new master of science in
management information systems to build on the business analytics and cyber security
graduate curriculum launched in 2020.
Connecting Students to Curriculum & Communities
Consulting projects
Course-based community projects occur in multiple disciplines (Marketing, SCM, MBA, etc) to provide
resume-enhancing, experiential learning for students. One project stemming from WSU’s Anchor
Mission strategy was particularly noteworthy. The Coal-to-Carbon Fiber project engaged the help of
three students mentored by Francois Giraud-Carrier and Evan Barlow. After the final presentation, Guy
Letendre, former Director of Economic Development for WSU, stated “The presentations were excellent
and created a great interest in pursuing the coal to carbon fiber project further. It was a great day for
Weber State and the future of our interdisciplinary efforts. We are becoming a leader in the coal to
carbon fiber space...”
The Moyes Center for Supply Chain Excellence supported and the SCM faculty prepared students to
participate in national case-competitions. Teams have performed well over the years, with two teams
taking first place in 2020 and 2021 by beating teams from top national SCM programs.
Over the past few years WSU, including the GSBE, has been engaged in the creation of a venture capital
fund that would provide opportunities for our entrepreneurship and graduate students to participate in
deal flow analysis. Using an interlocal agreement with WSU, Davis Technical College, Ogden/Weber
Technical College, Ogden City, Davis County, and Weber County, a development foundation would be
created to oversee this fund. Aside from the outward facing aspects of a fund like this, we have
prepared to launch a venture capital fundamentals class with additional credits available for students
who become deal-flow analysts. These students, as analysts, will be mentored by VC advisors and will
make recommendations to members of a highly experienced investment committee. Much work is still
to be done to fully implement and eventually resource a fund like this.
Study Abroad Experiences
Semester-abroad partnerships and programs are formalized in many countries and interested students,
though few, have been and will continue to be directed toward them. Obviously, the pandemic has
caused us to pause travel programs but it’s our hope that we can return to sponsoring multiple short-
term trips each year, which typically generates more student participation over semester-long
experiences. We have learned from the experiences of two students who successfully completed a
semester at Kedge and two-years at Bremen that better on-boarding is needed upon arrival at the host
schools.
During the pandemic we have worked to foster our relationship with Shanghai Normal University and
the new Dean of the School of Finance & Business (SFB). We have signed a partnership agreement
between the GSBE and the SFB. We have had discussions about expanding the program to include
accounting and data analytics and have been in the details of course articulation agreements. I was
invited in October 2020 to speak (remotely) on the topic of “Teaching Mode Innovation and Reform
During the Pandemic (now and in the future)" at a SHNU sponsored “Forum on the Reform and
Innovation of Teaching Mode in the Fight against Covid-19." Last fall, the dean invited me to assist his
school as it pursues initial AACSB accreditation.
Despite the pandemic, we have continued to enroll international students in our classes. These students
need support with academic advising and even grocery shopping. Thankfully, Dr. Li Li has advised them
and assisted them with their everyday needs. She has also played a vital role in managing and growing
our programs with SHNU. Additionally, and with an agreement in place with Konan University in Japan,
we are one step closer to having students enroll at WSU. As adopted at our 2019 retreat, and thanks in
part to Doris Geide-Stevenson and Gavin Roberts, WSU was able to establish a global (GBL) course
designation.
Student placement and strategic employer partnerships
In addition to existing partnerships with global leaders such as AutoLiv and Northrop Grumman (to
name only two of many), we have developed new partnerships this year with key Utah employers, HAFB
and Zions Bankcorp. Historically, our students are unique in that many already have jobs and as such,
don’t always engage in much needed internships or even seek new, upgraded employment. Because of
this, our Career Services Director, Brett Merrell, in collaboration with faculty and staff has implemented
a new strategic alignment with HAFB. Brett has also assisted firms to establish strong internship
programs that can benefit our students. He mentors our students through the career placement
process, often connecting them personally with employers. He has had the challenge of aligning
employers’ expectations with the reality that so many of our students are already employed and may
not respond to job openings.
Nye Lecture Series and Buehler Lectures
One of the concerns about COVID and shifting to virtual and online delivery was how we would continue
offering Executive Lectures (or Nye Lecture Series). One of the course sections is offered virtually. There
are over 100 students enrolled in it this semester. Brett Merrell, who selects speakers from our shared
networks, has been able to arrange a lineup of speakers from around the country. This was not an
affordable option when we held the class in-person in the Wattis Building. With Mary Ann Bole’s help,
they are able to ensure a high level of student engagement with the speakers. This class was typically
completed by students who were near graduation. By moving the class to Business Foundations, more
early stage students will be able to learn from and engage with professionals from nearly every GSBE
discipline, thus helping them make better career path choices. Though the pandemic continues (longer
than most of us hoped), in late January we were able to invite Dr. Scott and Karen Stornetta to campus
for our Buehler Lecture. Scott effectively spoke with ten different audiences about his experiences as a
co-inventor of blockchain, investing in blockchain-based business models, and answering many
questions about crypto currencies. Hosting our Buehler Lecture event created meaningful engagement
opportunities to expand our network of stakeholders. When one donor expressed how impressed he is
with our GSBE strategy and then offered to help us, it confirmed the reason why the GSBE needs to be
an active participant in our community.
Inclusivity and Belonging
Helping students connect their curriculum to our communities can best be accomplished when they feel
that they belong. With our heightened awareness of racism and divisiveness, the GSBE declared our
commitment to fostering an inclusive environment. We also created a committee dedicated to
improving Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion. Chaired by Alicia Ingersoll, the committee members have
established an agenda that looks inward while also preparing us to lead outwardly. It is our hope that
our work to establish a stronger sense of belonging by all of our stakeholders will help more students
achieve excellence during the time they spend with us in the GSBE.
Structure and Process for Enabling Strategic Progress
To enable strategic initiatives and associated projects to be proposed and managed and to enable
transparency of our progress, we repurposed the Strategic Planning Committee by creating a Strategic
Initiative Office (SIO). The SIO has representation from faculty and staff throughout the GSBE, with Gavin
Roberts serving as Chair. We also launched a supporting process (see below) to propose projects,
approve them, and follow them through their lifecycle. The SIO adopted Trello to track projects.
The past two years we have budgeted $4,000 to award staff members for work they do to successfully
propose business cases and implement strategic projects. This is work that is typically above and beyond
their normal responsibilities. This is an initial step in creating a strategic incentive program, to
compliment our research incentive program.
Recognitions of Quality from External Sources
Last year we submitted our application for GSBE’s 2022-23 continuous improvement review (CIR),
including a revised list of peer and aspirant schools and program exclusions. We have been preparing for
our CIR opting to follow the 2020 AACSB standards (not the 2013 standards), which includes emphases
on positive societal impact, risk management, inclusive teaching, and the ever-present strategic
planning, assurance of learning, and faculty qualification standards. Faculty annual reports have helped
us identify progress made on many key elements needed for our next CIR. Much of our work this next
year will be focused on writing our report and preparing faculty and staff for the peer-review team’s
(PRT) visit in early 2023. It has been a learning experience for me to serve on the PRT for the continuous
improvement review for California State University - Sacramento (CSUS) (held in late February and early
March). To aid in our preparations, Eric Smith (associate dean) and I have participated in multiple
conferences and trainings sponsored by AACSB.
US News and Other Recognitions
The following illustrate several of the national recognitions our GSBE programs have received.
In addition, among Utah’s many MBA programs, the WSU MBA is No. 1 for Return on Investment, with
an average student debt of $5,600 and an average salary of over $90,000 three years post-graduation. It
is also the most gender-diverse MBA program in Utah with nearly 40% female students.
The Goddard School’s People
Faculty
We have 50 faculty members and dozens more who teach part time. They are actively engaged in
teaching and learning while also working tirelessly to keep themselves academically and professionally
qualified to teach in their disciplines.
We have been able to hire two SCM faculty members to replace retirees Stan and Dee Fawcett. We
sought support for and subsequently hired a new Marketing faculty position. With a pre-pandemic
resignation in Economics, we temporarily filled that position with a visiting professor. With even more
budget cuts facing the GSBE next year, we successfully secured funding from the Provost to create a new
position for an ECON/Analytics assistant professor (thus enabling us to apply the funds from the visiting
professor line to 2022-23 budget cuts). Thankfully, that new faculty line is now filled.
• Rank & Tenure and Post-Tenure (PCP):
In the past two years we have been able to successfully award tenure to 11 GSBE faculty. In terms of
promotion, ten faculty have advanced to associate professor and seven more to full professor. For
those who have held the rank of full professor for five years or more, ten faculty completed their
post-tenure reviews using the performance compensation program (PCP) and were awarded a
$5,000 salary increase from the Provost.
• Sabbaticals
Twelve GSBE faculty have been awarded sabbatical leave the past two years with five more
approved for next year. Sabbaticals are valuable for faculty and have yielded improvements to our
research output and impact and have also benefited our teaching and learning environment.
• Fellowships
Thirty faculty were awarded research and teaching fellowships for the three-year period starting
July 1, 2021. In a review of fellowship applications, seven faculty published a total of nine articles in
A* journals (as ranked in the Australian Business Deans List, as one measure of quality). Twenty-one
faculty published in ABDC ranked 'A' journals. Though not all faculty applied for fellowships, these
applications provided a glimpse into the quality of our faculty publications. Fellowships provide
development funds ranging from $3,000 to $6,000 annually.
• Research Incentive Program (RIP)
Our faculty publish regularly in high quality journals. We have awarded $444,454 since July 2019 as
follows: 2019-20: $176,850 to 34 faculty
2020-21: $189,286 to 36 faculty
2021-22: $78,318 to 17 faculty (as of 1/31/22)
• Faculty Recognition and Award Highlights at WSU
In the past few years many faculty have been recognized by their peers. Here are a few examples:
Brady Presidential Distinguished Professor
2021: Michael Vaughan (and many others in prior years)
Outstanding Researcher Award
2021: John Mukum Mbaku
John & Olga Gardner Prize by the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters
2021: John Mukum Mbaku
Presidential Teaching Excellence Awards
2021: Loisanne Kattelman, Alvaro La Parra Perez
2020: Clinton Amos, Gavin Roberts
2019: Brandon Koford
2018: Tony Allred, Lisa Hopkins, Matt Gnagey
Outstanding GSBE Mentor Award
2021: Jesse King
Applied Faculty Sustainability Research Award
2021: Therese Grijalva
2020: Matt Gnagey, Therese Grijalva
Goddard Gratitude Awards (annually in November)
2021: Francois Giraud-Carrier & Andrew Keinsley; Michelle Rich (Adjunct)
2020: Randy Boyle; Jennifer Gnagey (Adjunct)
Career Champions
2022: Terrilyn Morgan
2021: Lisa Hopkins
Alston Award for Teaching Excellence:
2021: Loisanne Kattelman
2020: Gavin Roberts
2019: Darcie Costello
Fulbright Scholar
2021-2022: Randy Boyle (currently at the University of Warsaw)
Earl J. Hamilton Prize - Asociación Española De Historia Económica
2020: Alvaro La Parra-Perez
Staff
We have benefited in countless ways from having devoted and talented staff in the GSBE. I am grateful
for their willing engagement in our strategic initiatives and day-to-day activities. COVID has been
disruptive and a genuine concern for all of us and through it all our staff members have performed
exceptionally well on site and remotely. Staff consistently propose ideas to improve the work they do
through new technologies, modified policies, and process refinements. Two staff members opted for
early retirement through the VSIP option granted each of the last two fall semesters. We plan to replace
one of our academic advisors who took a position at another institution. Kyle Braithwaite skillfully and
seamlessly replaced Kelly Hillhouse, just as Ruth Preece did as she replaced Sally Taylor. There is rarely a
week that goes by when someone doesn’t compliment Mary Ann Boles for her many contributions. I
know that I cannot approach a level of effectiveness without Mary Ann’s assistance.
Nancy Tomon took on the role of interim director for the Moyes Center for Supply Chain Excellence in
the middle of the pandemic and helped launch key SCM Learn & Work initiatives. Patrick Leavitt’s
diligent work to update classrooms and make sure that everyone was able to function remotely using
varying types of technology was invaluable. Each of our department and program administrative
specialists took on the challenge of supporting students and faculty remotely, adapting to COVID’s
challenges, and supporting the launch of many new programs with only weeks of notice. With three new
MBA certificates being launched in a narrow window, Andrew Wright was able to recruit dozens of new
and current students into the certificates.
Our academic advisors, Karen Hicks and Alex Muller, perform a vital role in the GSBE as students apply
for and get admitted to the GSBE. During the pandemic, they quickly and seamlessly adapted to multiple
methods of being available for students. During the last academic/pandemic year, our Advising Center
conducted nearly 1,400 virtual advising appointments and used varied techniques and tools to recruit
and retain students each semester, including personal phone calls, text messages, and emails.
Looking ahead, staff empowerment, skill development, career ladders, additional positions, and salaries
remain areas of focus as we move forward.
• Examples of Staff Recognition and Awards at WSU
Academic Colleges Excellent Staff (ACES) Award
2021-2022: Karen Hicks (Honorable Mention)
2019-2020: Alexa Jones
Goddard Gratitude Awards (annually in November):
2021: Nancy Tomon & Brett Merrell
2020: Karen Hicks & Niki Tonks
Advisory Councils and Donors
We have multiple advisory councils providing key input and support throughout the Goddard School.
Just as some of our departments have done, we contacted each member of the Business Advisory
Council (BAC) to ask for their intentions to renew or discontinue their term of service. There were many
who were looking to gracefully exit after many years of participation or who were facing roles that
wouldn’t allow them to participate as they hoped. We are grateful for those who have served, continue
to serve, or are now embarking on service in an advisory role. The BAC has been instrumental in
confirming our strategic initiatives, providing input on our capacity constraints, concerns about online
learning, and sharing how they manage risk in their various industries. They are quick to provide insights
on labor and employee issues, particularly related to COVID issues, changing priorities of workers, and
the great resignation. We appreciated their engagement with Scott Stornetta. We are also appreciative
of their generosity financially, which is addressed in more detail below. Upcoming meetings will require
their input as we prepare for our AACSB review and our capital campaign. Advisory Council members
participate effectively with some expressing a desire to participate even more.
Students
Currently, there are about 1,900 degree seeking students in the Goddard School. Just over half of our
students are ages 25-34, with 27% being first-generation. In addition to the $800,000+ in one-time Learn
& Work scholarships in 2020-21, the GSBE awarded nearly $300,000 in scholarships and waivers to over
100 students last academic year. We are grateful for the generosity of so many donors who have
invested in our students for many years.
• Student Clubs
Many of our students are working, which creates a time constraint that impedes their availability to
participate in our student-run clubs. We have a select few who serve in leadership roles in our clubs
but regular membership is low. We will continue to provide students with leadership opportunities
through clubs, but will also consider other ways to help them develop their leadership skills (such as
through consulting projects described above).
• 10-Year Graduation Trends:
As you will notice from the chart below, we consistently graduate students with masters and
baccalaureate degrees. The past several years we have seen an increase in enrollment in our MBA
graduate (postbaccalaureate) certificates, mainly in aerospace and contract management. There has
also been an increase in students completing associate degrees and, though not shown, students
completing minor degrees. With several recent credentials becoming available to compliment
undergraduate and graduate degrees, we anticipate an increase in completion in those programs.
Goddard Financial Position
We have had to be extremely frugal the past few years. A downturn in international students in our
International Economics program reduced residual sharing income from nearly $300,000 at its high
point six years ago down to nearly zero. That revenue reduction combined with COVID-related cuts from
reduced state funding of $191,552 to begin 2021-22 and another cut from WSU of $173,525 in the
upcoming academic year (due to low enrollment) have presented numerous challenges. We have many
unfunded strategic projects, as well as faculty, staff, and program development needs such as salary
issues, staff shortages, conference travel, research databases, training, marketing, technology, to name
more than a few. It is our hope that past commitments and accounts still in deficit (student exchange,
WB 218 reconstruction) from before 2019 can be made whole in the near future.
CARES, HEERF, and Learn & Work Funds
Despite these financial hardships, we have been able to access additional resources as part of the
federal CARES act and HEERF and Learn & Work funding opportunities. The following grants were
funded such that we rapidly developed and launched new programs and incentivized enrollments
through scholarships.
Fall 2020:
Program
Scholarships
Program Mgmt &
Instruction
Total Grant
Online Entrepreneurship
Certificate
$66,816 $119,333 $186,149 62
Graduate Certificate in Business
Analytics
$135,000 $40,000 $175,000 17
Graduate Certificate in Cyber
Security
$135,000 $25,000 $160,000 13
Graduate Certificate in Business
Development
$90,000 $35,000 $125,000 12
Spring 2021:
Program
Scholarships
Program Mgmt &
Instruction
Total Grant
SCM “Returnship” with Red
Barn
$102,142 $8,070 $110,212 16
Data Analytics Certificate
(undergrad)
$84,000 $38,874 $122,874 18
Graduate Certificate in Cyber
Security
$180,000 $59,654 $239,654 18
SCM Certificate Expansion
$65,332
-
$65,332
We also benefited from WSU’s CARES/HEERF funded technology upgrades in nearly all of our Wattis
Building classrooms and with our work-from-home and online/virtual teaching technology. That influx of
new technology will need to be replaced in a few years and we need to be prepared for the cost of
replacements. We will need to set aside funding annually into our Repair/Replacement Reserve account.
Given the limit on annual carry forward funds, and preferring to not have the funds swept by WSU last
June, we allocated over $25k to our R&R account as a start to establishing funds for technology
replacements. This allocation was taken from the dean’s budget so that departmental and program
budgets could remain whole, something we hope to preserve and eventually increase.
Development
Fundraising opportunities have yielded many benefits and there are many more possibilities ahead.
With a capital campaign underway, we hope our bold plans will be embraced by our potential donors.
Despite the COVID impact on donor engagement in 2020, fundraising efforts yielded $314,585 from 131
donors in 2019-20 and $1,228,655 from 108 donors in 2020-21. These donations are primarily directed
toward scholarships and past endowment commitments. Through January 2022, 58 donors have
donated $6,425,358, with much of this being a pledged future gift. We are extremely grateful for these
contributions.
Kyle Braithwaite, our Senior Development Director, is an effective donor and gift steward. Given our
many strategic priorities, we have worked to rename the Dean’s Fund to the Strategic Opportunities
Fund. We plan to solicit one-time and annual contributions to this fund for specific GSBE strategic
initiatives. Donations to the Dean’s Fund the past few years are as follows:
2019-20: $46,725
2020-21: $17,762
2021-22: $26,589 (so far)
In our development engagements, we consistently share our strategic initiatives with the intent of
connecting current and potential donors with programs they may want to support. These key
stakeholders have expressed an interest in knowing how their donations will be (or were) utilized. For
example, a recently retired CEO who is a GSBE alum and member of our Business Advisory Council took
interest in supporting our Early Executive Leadership Academy (EELA). He has now started funding a six-
figure endowment to support the operating costs of EELA. We will provide him with an annual report
describing EELA’s outcomes, including student successes. His donation is greatly appreciated as it
supports our Bridges to Goddard strategy. This type of support is something we would like to scale up.
Working across campus and in the community
We have many faculty and staff who engage across campus, in the community, and in their professional
organizations. As a dean, I get the opportunity to interact regularly with the members of Deans Council
and the Weber Academic Leadership Team. Whether planned or spontaneous, the deans will often
gather to discuss shared interests or discuss concerns. It’s a cohesive group and I continue to learn from
each of them. Just as many of you do, I also work regularly with administrators elsewhere on campus,
such as in the Division of Online and Continuing Education. I also attend Faculty Senate meetings and am
a non-voting member of ASSA. I make every attempt to represent the GSBE in a manner that builds
mutually-beneficial relationships. I regularly participate on selection committees and selection
processes, usually for Deans, including the Dean of Continuing Education, and other key administrative
positions.
Thanks to former dean Jeff Steagall, who began a partnership with the Ogden/Weber Chamber, I have
enjoyed planning, implementing, and participating in the twice-annual Northern Utah Business
Symposium. It was challenging during COVID to hold the events virtually but we persevered. Whenever
possible, I suggest our own faculty and staff as potential speakers. Andrew Keinsley effectively
presented at the 2021 virtual NUBIZ Economic Forecast event. This year’s event was exceptional and, in
cooperation with the Bank of Utah, was held in person with about 250 attendees. Niki’s presentation on
communication through text and emojis was well received by the audience attending the November
2021 NUBIZ event on campus.
The Hall Global Entrepreneurship Center’s (HGEC) strategy continues to build our entrepreneurial
presence in the community and on campus. Brandon Stoddard and Dave Noack have created a growing
presence and influence in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Wildcat Micro Fund (WMF) has
established itself as a meaningful source of milestone-based mentorship and micro-grants for early
stage entrepreneurs. Catherine Clark has the WMF running effectively with committed mentors,
credible judges, and enthusiastic entrepreneurs. The WMF recently received a sizeable donation from a
local financial institution and is now seeking additional EDA funding. Last year the WMF created a
partnership with the Suazo Business Center. Suazo’s work with underrepresented/Hispanic populations
can help build financial literacy in our community while also connecting entrepreneurs to the WMF. Alan
Hall’s continued support for the HGEC center is greatly appreciated and we continue to support his
vision for greater growth in the entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Just as so many of you volunteer to serve in various organizations in our community, I too enjoy service
as a board member of Family Promise of Ogden and as a board member of Bridge Elementary in Roy.
Summary
It has been an honor to serve in the role of dean the past few years. We have accomplished a great deal
while also being fully aware of the numerous challenges before us. I have appreciated working with you
in your varied roles and it has been rewarding to watch our faculty and staff grow professionally while
they provide a personal touch to serving students. I have been grateful to those who serve in many roles
in the GSBE and in the broader campus, community, and profession. I’m particularly grateful for those
who serve (or have served) on the Goddard School Council and have contributed and collaborated so
meaningfully in conducting the business of our school. I thank our associate dean, department chairs,
associate chair, and program directors for their support and leadership: Eric Smith (AD); James Hansen
(SAT); Seokwoo Song (SCM-MIS); Brandon Koford (ECON); Jennifer Anderson, Wendy Fox-Kirk, David
Read (BAM); Ryan Pace (MAcc/MTax); Shaun Hansen and Francois Giraud-Carrier (MBA) and Andrew
Wright for helping transition between MBA directors. I also thank each member of the Council who
works tirelessly to make a difference in our school: Mary Ann Boles, Niki Tonks, Brett Merrell, Karen
Hicks, Kyle Braithwaite, Alicia Ingersoll, and Gavin Roberts.
Sincerely,