Message From the Dean — August 2021


August 27, 2021

Dear GWSB Community,

Energized by the buzz on campus already, I am full of anticipation as the semester starts. I am reminded of my core belief that organizational strength comes from our people. Within GWSB we continue to strengthen our community in welcoming new talent — with an excellent class of students, and the addition of new staff and faculty. This includes attracting a renowned scholar in an especially important area.

I am delighted to give a special shout out to the search committee led by Professor Vanessa Perry, that selected our new Lindner-Gambal Professor of Business Ethics.

Joel Gehman joins GWSB in this endowed position in the Strategic Management and Public Policy department. As announced, Professor Gehman has an extensive background in organizational strategies, technology innovation and institutional arrangements. In Spring 2022, students can take Business Ethics, Business & Public Policy and Business Ethics & Public Policy courses with Dr. Gehman. 

In addition to the appointment of Professor Gehman I am also pleased to welcome the following faculty colleagues to our community:

  • Vikram Bhargava, Assistant Professor of Strategic Management & Public Policy
  • Thomas Choate, Teaching Assistant Professor of Strategic Management & Public Policy
  • Anthony Gibbs, Visiting Professor of Strategic Management & Public Policy
  • Long He, Associate Professor of Decision Sciences

I also want to recognize our returning and new staff who have all been working tirelessly this summer to provide impactful student experiences, whether at orientation and meet-and-greet sessions, student training, or in the classroom driven by innovative instructional design. For all these significant efforts, I thank them. I am sure we’ll all enjoy how their talent and hard work comes to fruition throughout the semester.  

GWSB Good News

  • Cheering for our Paralympic Competitor: Shahrad Nasajpour (Global MBA ’23) is competing at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan in Discus on the Refugee Team. He spoke with media including local news outlets ABC7 and NBC4 before embarking to Tokyo. Nasajpour shared his journey of proposing a refugee Paralympic team for the Rio Games. The Washingtonian also included Nasajpour in their coverage of local athletes competing in the Tokyo games.
  • Olympic Gathering: Lisa Delpy-Neirotti, Professor of Sport Management and Director of the MS in Sport Management Program, hosted an Olympic reunion and watch party attended by Nasajpour and GWSB alumni. Enjoy photos from the festive night in the GW Today coverage. 

Faculty Expertise

  • Lisa Delpy-Neirotti, Professor of Sport Management and Director of the MS in Sport Management Program, provided expert analysis and commentary on the Olympic games for CGTN and Forbes regarding Olympic breakout stars, Suni Lee and Caeleb Dressel, and what that means for endorsements. She also shared with Sports Travel Magazine her sentiment this year about the Olympic, and "the silver lining of not being in Tokyo is the realization of just how much I love the Olympic Games and the desire to be in Beijing in 2022 to continue the tradition."
  • The Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GFLEC) released “Financial Resilience in America” with the Stanford Center on Longevity. The new report used data from the Great Recession onwards to measure financial resilience across time and different groups. The findings served as the foundation of policy recommendations about financial resilience and was featured on CNBC and in Forbes. GFLEC also announced the new paper “Factors Contributing to Financial Well-Being among Black and Hispanic Women,” was published in the Summer issue of The Journal of Retirement
  • Patrick Hall, Visiting Faculty, Department of Decision Sciences, provided insight for two recent articles, Wired and Fortune on new AI algorithmic changes announced by tech giants like Microsoft and Twitter.
  • Katina Sawyer, Assistant Professor of Management, provided insight and for Inc. in an op-ed. The article connects Sawyer’s research outcomes with practical steps Allies can take in offices to advance inclusivity for trans employees.

Awards & Recognition

  • Accelerating Success: Congratulations to the seven ventures in the 2021 GW Summer Startup Accelerator Showcase for completing their final pitches. Congratulations to all of our student teams for your hard work throughout the summer. If you missed out on the big event you can still view all the teams present their ventures.
  • Head of the Academy: Congratulations to Professor Herman Aguinis, Department of Management Chair, Avram Tucker Distinguished Scholar and Professor of Management, we are #GWSBproud of your new role as president of the Academy of Management
  • Power-Grid Impact: Miguel Lejeune, Professor of Decision Sciences and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering for SEAS, was awarded a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation for research on "Mobility-As-A-Service for Resilience Delivery in Power Grids: Stochastic Programming Advancements under Decision-Dependent Uncertainties."
  • 250 Graduates Across 20 Years: We are celebrating the 20th anniversary of “Business & the State: Privatization, Nationalization and Public Partnerships” course as the longest-running GWSB study abroad program. For twenty consecutive years, the course has run in London and Washington, D.C. Special congratulations to Robert Weiner, Professor of International Business,  Jed Kee, Professor of Public Administration, and the school’s former Senior Associate Dean, and John Forrer, now Associate Director of the Institute for Corporate Responsibility, who launched the program with the first cohort of students visiting London in 2001. The program has run since then as a Short-Term Abroad Program (STAP) in London as well as a Business & Society Series offering. Students enrolled in this summer's virtual Business & Society offering explored the resurgence of the state in business in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and are engaging in project work related to prisons, European Union PPPs, media in India, and Boeing’s defense contracting experience.

Events & Reminders

  • August 27:  Participate in a webinar on the Role of State Government in U.S.- South Korea Business Relations. The Korean Management Institute (KMI) at GWSB is thrilled to host its monthly ICSB-KMI Joint Webinar at 7 p.m. (EDT) on Friday, August 27. This webinar features Ms. Juna Kim, former Correspondence Manager at the State of Michigan's Office of Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Register to participate.
  • September 2: Global & Experiential Education will host a meeting to present Long-term Study Abroad information to graduate students. RSVP to join the live virtual event from 5–6 p.m. (EDT) on Thursday, September 2.
  • September 2: The Undergraduate Business Association (UBA) welcomes first and second year students back to school for the semester from 9–11 a.m. (EDT) on Thursday, September 2 on the first floor of Duquès Hall. 
  • September 22: George Talks Business is back for the fall 2021 season, kicking off with Mitchell E. Blaser (BBA '73), co-founder and co-chief executive officer of Mosaic Insurance and chairman of the GWSB ' Advisory Council.  Register to participate on Wednesday, September 22 from 12:30–1 p.m. (EDT) in the virtual interview. 
  • October 19: Join Annamaria Lusardi, University Professor of Economics and Accountancy, when she is a guest speaker at the upcoming Financial Times event, The Banking Summit. Register now to participate in the conference session on Tuesday, October 19 from 12:25–12:50 p.m. (GMT). 
  • The GWSB Proud Podcast released several new episodes in August. Learn about Advocating for Healthcare Change with Leslie Howard, Creating a Food & Sport Lifestyle Brand with Daina Falk and How Our School Champions Diversity, Equity & Inclusion with Leo Moersen. Subscribe on Apple Podcast, Soundcloud and Spotify.
  • Full Calendar: Check the GW Business Calendar in the coming days for a growing list engaging GWSB events.

As we complete our preparations to welcome everyone to campus, please continue to consult university resources on the GW Onward site. I am looking forward to next week.

Let’s make it a great semester together!

Stay well and stay strong,

image - Dean Anuj Mehrotra signature

Anuj Mehrotra, Ph.D.

Dean