A Message
from the Dean

During the past year, the Pitt Business community came together to develop Pitt Business 2030, the ambitious plan that will guide our community to new heights of impact, quality, and reputation.

This new strategic roadmap emerged from a systematic program of conversations and meetings with faculty, staff, students, alumni, recruiters, board members, and University administrators. Together, we developed a new shared strategic orientation, widely agreed upon goals, and high-impact initiatives for achieving them. 

At the heart of our new vision is the imperative of inspiring the next generation of business graduates — preparing today’s students to shape a better future and rise to the challenges of an ever-changing world. Many of the dominant forces affecting business today, including rapid technological advancement, social polarization, and climate change, are ongoing issues that tomorrow’s business leaders will also need to grapple with and address. The research and insights that we generate now, the curriculum that we teach today, and the work we do with industry and other disciplines, will help to better prepare our graduates, the organizations for which they will work, and the communities in which they will live for what lies ahead.

In this edition of the magazine, you will read about the five pillars of our new strategic plan — Reimagine Programs, Engage Pittsburgh, Research with Impact, Business for All, and One Pitt Business. We also introduce the school’s new academic leadership team, which has been reconfigured to align with and support the goals of  Pitt Business 2030. 

Our new strategic plan builds on our community’s remarkable trajectory and the many outstanding contributions of Pitt Business alumni, students, faculty, and staff. Our cover story highlights the achievements and lasting impact of four influential Pitt Business women — Bibiana Boerio, Ngozichukwu Ibe, Josephine Olson, and Esme Stasa. 

We celebrate the accomplishments of our 2023 Alumni Association Award honorees, faculty researchers, and students like Alex Firestine (BSBA ’23) — the University’s first-ever recipient of the prestigious George J. Mitchell Scholarship. We recognize the leadership of staff members Jodi Weisfield, Amy McCloskey, and Outstanding Career Achievement honoree Lisa Cherok. 

I also want to say thank you to my predecessor Arjang Assad, who achieved tremendous success as dean from July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2022, and has now retired from the faculty. We also pay tribute to H.J. “Jerry” Zoffer, who passed away on July 22, one day before his 93rd birthday. Under Dean Zoffer’s remarkable leadership from 1968 to 1996, the school advanced dramatically in terms of quality, impact, and reputation, establishing itself as one of the world’s leading business schools.

Our highest aspiration is to prepare future business leaders to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. We cannot do so alone. We need support from alumni, parents, and partners around the world. Just as important as financial support are gifts of time and talent — helping to recruit promising students, speaking to classes, acting as a mentor, advising on curriculum, hiring students as interns and more. I invite and encourage you to renew your commitment to Pitt Business, to the impact it had on you, and to the impact it will have on the leaders of tomorrow.