As one of the three finalists in the search for the new business school dean, Susan McTiernan spoke to faculty, staff and students today at noon in the Hockett Family Recital Hall in the Whalen Center of Music to promote her vision for the future of the business school.

The search for the business school dean has been narrowed down to three finalists: Mary Ellen Zuckerman, Robert Pitts and Susan McTiernan. Zuckerman made her presentation last Tuesday and Pitts will be presenting at noon Monday.

“The three finalists, we have, are all exceptionally qualified business professionals and administrators,” Greg Woodward, dean of the music school and search committee chair, said.

The presentation consisted of a 30-minute speech by McTiernan accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation where she discussed her goals for the college if she were to be chosen as dean.

Woodward introduced McTiernan by listing some of her accomplishments in the world of business and academia.

“Susan in the business world seems to know everybody,” Woodward said. “It’s been a real pleasure to have her here.”

McTiernan, a Fullbright scholar, has previously served as associate dean at the Zarb School of Business at Hofstra University, as well as the Tobin College of Business at St. John’s University. She earned her doctorate in management and organizational behavior at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. She has also served as Vice Chair of the Women Administrators in Management Education Affinity Group within AACSB International and as an elected member of the Graduate Management Admission Council’s Board of Trustees.

In her presentation, McTiernan said she strongly believes in the importance of a liberal arts foundation for the students and she feels it is difficult to succeed without one. She said it is important to teach students to view the world through the lenses of others.

“Do we really grant any benefit to our undergraduate students by just allowing them to take courses specifically within their field and not doing much else?” she asked. “I would argue we probably don’t.”

McTiernan said she finds it important to remain focused on the students and their needs in order to help them become as successful as possible.  She said students are going to need a lot more education in their lives to stay current and that is based on an education that can provide them with flexible and adaptable degrees.

“We are really preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist,” she said.

She said she is impressed with the college’s ability to balance theoretical and practical skills in business education and she hopes to have the opportunity to improve on that even more. Business students are eventually going to a part of some organization, McTiernan said, and they need to learn how to be successful within one.

“[The students] really need to know how to be an effective member of an organization and when it is appropriate to step in as a leader and maybe, even more importantly some would argue, when it is appropriate to be a follower,” she said.

A portion of the presentation was focused on the sustainable initiative of the college and, specifically, of the business school. McTiernan said she hopes to continue the college’s goal to become even more sustainable in the future.

“Taking responsibility for leading the way and taking responsibility for the future really matters a lot,” she said. “I’m very glad that sustainability has been getting so much more attention.”

McTiernan said students at the business school have the opportunity to benefit from strong leadership instruction that can be provided from the business school and that such quality leadership is a crucial part to the students’ education.

“When you come right down to it, sometimes, nothing else matters,” she said. “If the leadership is wrong, I’m not sure you can get much of anything else right.”

The entire presentation was concluded with a reception with refreshments where McTiernan continued to discuss matters with audience members who wished to stay.

McTiernan said she strongly believes in the idea that students and faculty members can learn and benefit from working closely together.

“Bottom line, we need each other,” she said. “This is an incredible institution with so many opportunities for students to really benefit from cross-disciplinary collaborations and opportunities to really get involved in a variety of courses on a small-scale in a way that is very unique to Ithaca College.”