At the Lundquist College of Business, we are focused on student success—everything from ensuring students have a great experience in college to providing the advising and career-support services they need to succeed in business and life. As a result of our commitment to constantly assessing the needs and priorities of our students, the college has launched a new student success initiative to build stronger paths for life-long learning and connection, to develop great continuity between our undergraduate and graduate programs, and to efficiently leverage combined resources to better support the needs of our growing student population.
As part of this initiative, we are pleased to announce that Collette Niland, associate dean for undergraduate programs, will evolve her role to serve as associate dean for student experience. In this new capacity, Niland will add graduate student services to her portfolio, and the student experience and advising staff for our Eugene-based graduate programs will integrate with our robust undergraduate programs and advising teams.
“I have had a long and rewarding career building and enhancing cutting-edge student focused programs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of California-Los Angeles, University of Illinois, and, for the past seven years, at the Lundquist College of Business," said Niland. "I am thrilled to take on this new role and bring together two amazing teams to create exciting new connections and opportunities for our students."
In addition to Niland's new role, the college has announced it will appoint a senior associate dean of academic programs from among its faculty. The senior associate dean of academic programs will be responsible for assessing and identifying program requirements that support educational outcomes and objectives while guiding efforts to ensure increased continuity across our undergraduate and graduate courses and degree specializations.
“As the college seeks to grow its undergraduate and specialized master's programs, enhance the student experience and support services for both our graduate and undergraduate students, and extend curriculum enhancement initiatives across our suite of programs, strong faculty involvement and leadership will be paramount," said Sarah E. Nutter, Edward Maletis Dean of the Lundquist College of Business.
These organizational enhancements will begin rolling out over the next few months. Current students will continue to enjoy and have access to the same support services—from advising to career support—as they do now. As the initiative progresses, all students should see continued improvement of services. Recruiting and admission staff for our undergraduate and Eugene-based graduate programs will also be integrated and work to develop more collaborative strategies to better support and inform students of all opportunities within the Lundquist College. Jared Barlow will lead the new office of recruiting and admissions.
“Bringing our undergraduate and graduate programs together as a unified whole will strengthen the Lundquist community," said Nutter, “building the framework for the future of the college and a re-envisioned approach to student success, starting with recruiting and admissions and ending with life-long connection with the University of Oregon as engaged alumni."
—Jim Engelhardt