by Christina M. Finzel
Else School Benchmarks
February 1979
School of Management established by Millsaps College
Board of Trustees
August 1980
Dr. Jerry Whitt
appointed first Dean
November 1986
Named Else School of Management in honor of
Charles and Eloise Else
June 1987
European Studies Program launched. With initial study
in London and Paris, the program has expanded to include Munich, Prague,
and other sites.
April 1990
Accredited by American Assembly of Collegiate Schools
of Business (AACSB). Millsaps is the smallest institution to receive the
prestigious AACSB accreditation.
August 1993
Hugh J. Parker appointed Dean
January 1994
One of only 12 schools in the nation selected to
participate in the Ernst & Young Strategic Partnership. A revised M.B.A.
curriculum was one key result of this program.
August 1994
Master of Accountancy (MAcc) first offered
April 1996
Reaccredited by AACSB. Millsaps remains one of only
four colleges to have an AACSB accredited business school and a chapter
of Phi Beta Kappa. The other schools are William and Mary, Boston College,
and Dartmouth.
January 1999
Dr. W. Randy Boxx appointed Dean
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Millsaps College has appointed W. Randy Boxx
as the next Dean of the Else School of Management. Dr. Boxx is well-known
to the Mid-South business community as the Dean of the University of Mississippi’s
School of Business administration.
An entrepreneur at heart, Boxx is excited
about the opportunities that exist at Millsaps: "The Else School of Management’s
impeccable reputation in tandem with the College’s national standing as
a premier liberal arts college offers a tremendous opportunity to create
a truly
unique world-class school of management."
"Randy has an excellent track record as a
teacher, administrator, and fund-raiser," says President Harmon. "His business
development skills, in particular, will lend a dynamic dimension to the
Else School of Management."
"We look forward to Randy increasing the visibility
of the Else School and Millsaps," states Richard Smith, Vice President
and Dean of the College. "He has been on the forefront of innovative business
education and is committed to building a management education program at
Millsaps that takes full advantage of the liberal arts strengths of the
College."
During his seven years as the Ole Miss Dean,
Boxx led a renascence in the School of Business. Under his leadership,
the school executed a comprehensive strategic plan that completely re-engineered
the curriculum at the undergraduate and graduate levels, completed a multi-million
dollar building program, and integrated the latest technology throughout
the business school.
Dean Boxx will assume his duties at Millsaps
on June 1, 1999, becoming the third Dean of the Else School. Boxx
received his B.B.A. and M.B.A. from the University of Southern Mississippi
and his Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas. He and his wife Mary have
two daughters.
A brief interview between Assistant
to the President Kevin Russell
and Dean Boxx follows.
Russell: Why did you enter teaching?
Boxx: When I was a student at Southern Miss, I had the opportunity
to go into the classroom and teach while I was working on my M.B.A. degree.
It was then that I discovered that higher education might be a field that
I wanted to enter. Some of the most satisfying experiences that I’ve ever
had have been from students who have come to campus or an alumni meeting,
and said, "You had a profound impact upon my life." Those kinds of remembrances
mean a lot to me.
Russell: What led you to apply for this position with the Else
School?
Boxx: The academic reputation of the College and all of
its programs. Since I’m a native Mississippian, I was very familiar with
the quality faculty and student body that you have here. Outstanding relationships
have been created between the faculty and the student body. When I interviewed
with the faculty, I was very impressed by this fact.
Russell: What skills do you think business schools should instill
in their graduates?
Boxx: Students have to be able to be effective communicators.
They have to be good writers, and they have to know how to use electronic
communications as well. Business and industry are looking for people who,
over a period of time, can become leaders as well as good team members,
so I think these skills are important. Like-wise, it is incumbent upon
us as faculty members to be sure that we can help students with their analytical
and problem-solving skills. It’s very important for students to understand
how they can use this set of skills in a culturally diverse – and very
much global – marketplace.
Russell: How do you see your role as Dean?
Boxx: I view my role as an academic entrepreneur, partnering
and collaborating with the other academic units on campus as well within
the business community, in order to make the Else School’s programs more
distinctive, prominent, and nationally competitive. I see success as being
directly related to collaboration with a group of diverse stake-holders.
Those people would be students, faculty, staff, alumni, the business community,
and donors. We have the opportunity to build some very meaningful relationships
here in terms of creating internship opportunities, creating placement
opportunities, using the business community as a part of this living laboratory.
We want the business community to be participants in the educational process.
They can facilitate a lot of the academic work that goes on in the Else
School.
Russell: How would you describe your management style?
Boxx: Good Communicator. Participatory in nature. A person who
listens. A person who is willing, though, to make the hard decisions. A
person who is willing to take the risk. One thing that I am not is an in-your-face
kind of a leader. I think I’m one that tries to gather as much information
as possible before we make a decision, and then once we make that decision,
then we’re not going to look in the rear-view mirror.
Russell: How do you see Millsaps’
liberal arts focus fitting in with the B.B.A. and the M.B.A.?
Boxx: There’s no doubt in my mind that one of the major strengths
of the Else School is the liberal arts training that the baccalaureate
students in business get. Those students are good thinkers; they are good
problem-solvers. They are good communicators. We believe that they can
be good leaders and good team players. The business community is looking
for graduates that possess all of these skills. It is my job as the dean
of the school to reach out to the rest of the academic community here at
Millsaps, and to get ourselves involved in a common educational adventure.
FACULTY AND STAFF | END |
