The search for the new School of Business dean is coming to a close now that all three final candidates have presented their visions to students, faculty and staff.

The candidates are Mary Ellen Zuckerman, Susan McTiernan and Robert Pitts, who all visited the college in the last few weeks to promote their individual ideas for the business school.

The search for a new dean began after former dean Susan Engelkemeyer resigned at the end of the last academic year to accept an offer to become dean of the Charlton College of Business at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. Engelkemeyer had served as dean since 2005.

Each of the three final candidates visited campus for two days and gave a formal hour-long presentation in front of students, faculty and staff in the Hockett Family Recital Hall in the Whalen Center for Music. Each had the opportunity to promote their ideas to the audience, answer questions and visit with audience members during a brief reception following the presentation.

“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.

Woodward said a new business dean will be in place by July.

The first candidate, Zuckerman, gave her presentation on Nov. 3. Zuckerman served as dean and professor in the School of Business at SUNY-Geneseo and currently holds the title of distinguished service professor. She oversaw the creation of a Master of Accounting program and led the School of Business throughout AACSB-International accreditation at the same institution. She also served as visiting associate professor at McGill University from 1990-91.

If she were to become dean, Zuckerman said, she would work closely with faculty, students and staff at the business school as well as the Ithaca community to develop a vision collaboratively.

“I would really work with them to apply their strengths and where they want to go with the school,” she said.

Zuckerman said she wants to provide students with real-world application activities to demonstrate the skills learned in the classroom.

The second candidate, McTiernan, visited campus last Thursday and Friday.

McTiernan, a Fulbright 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 Friday, McTiernan stressed the importance of a liberal arts foundation for students and said she feels it is difficult to succeed without one.

“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.”

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.

“[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 when it is appropriate to be a follower,” she said.

The final candidate, Pitts, came to campus last Monday and Tuesday.

Pitts is a professor of marketing at the School of Business at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. He was also a dean of the College of Business Administration at Creighton University and a professor and chair of the department of marketing at DePaul University. His research has appeared in several publications, including the Journal of Marketing and the Journal of Consumer Research.

Pitts discussed the role of business schools as a whole and how the college can be a part of leading the way in business education.

“We need to be engines of development and innovation, and we need to educate the next generation of business and social leaders,” he said. “That’s our big challenge.”

All three candidates discussed the idea of sustainability in their separate presentations and said they want to continue to make the business school a leading example for a sustainable future.

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

Warren Schlesinger, associate professor of accounting, said he hopes the candidate chosen will engage faculty and students.

“I want a dean who creates an environment where everybody wants to show up,” he said.

T.J. Slipko, a sophomore business administration major, said he wants as much real-world experience as possible. He would like to see more extracurricular events such as speakers and workshops at the business school in the future.

“I would like them to bring in some more alumni and people from the real world to come in and show us stuff,” he said.

Stan Seltzer, associate math professor and chair of the math department, said he was impressed by all three candidates.

“They thought that there was a lot of potential in the business school,” he said. “They certainly seemed interested. They certainly seemed prepared.”