ACBSP IMPACT

There is a quote I once read that if I remember correctly goes “Close your eyes for a moment and take a deep breath. Remember what is really important in life and forget all the rest. Grab life, live and love every moment.”

I am not even sure who that should be attributed to, and it might be a compilation of similar quotes, but it serves an important reminder about the fragility of life, especially as we all continue to reflect on the pandemic and post-pandemic lives.

I want to begin this column with the same expression of hope I have made during the past two and a half years; to our members, your families, as well as your institutional families for health and continued courage during these challenging times.

I also want to express the collective gratitude of our Board of Directors, Boards of Commissioners, Accreditation Governance Board and ACBSP team for your resilience and commitment to serving your students and institutions.

This past June, we installed Paul Stumb as our new Chair of the ACBSP Board of Directors, succeeding Debbie Gaspard.

I would be remiss if I did not express my deepest gratitude to Professor Gaspard for her leadership during extraordinary times. She led with courage and grace, and the organization truly benefitted from her guidance and foresight.

Among the numerous accomplishments were the creation of an African Task Force for Member Recruitment, which resulted in five new institutional members from the continent. She also led initiatives in support of the Kappa Beta Delta International Honor Society (KBD) while prioritizing Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion.

She laid the groundwork for a Women’s Academic Leadership Summit, though postponed by the pandemic, transitioned into a popular pre-con session at the ACBSP Conference this past June in Washington, D.C., and was rescheduled as a full, three-day event to be held November 15-17, 2023, in New Orleans.

Strategic Priorities

Finally, she helped lead the evolution of our organizational future by working with the Boards to identify our top strategic priorities while working with an Investment Committee now overseeing an endowment, which surpassed one million dollars for the first time in our history. The strategic priorities include:

• Protecting and Increasing the Visibility of the ACBSP Brand
• Maintaining our Financial Standing and Growing our Strategic Reserves
• Increased Focus of Student Success
• Putting Resources into International Growth
• Hosting an In-Person Annual Conference
• Creating Professional Growth Opportunities for Members

Please join me in thanking Debbie for her commitment to ACBSP.

We are also so appreciative of Chairman Stumb for his enduring dedication to our organization.

It is not every day we have a standing University President lead the Board, and it has been a remarkable beginning to the year already.

Platform for 2023 

Dr. Stumb is the President of Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee, which I have had the opportunity to visit several times where I have been able to see firsthand the exceptional results of his leadership. His ACBSP platform for the next year includes the following:

• Net Membership Growth of 25 Institutions
• Evaluation of Leadership Rotations and Committee Membership
• Re-Assessment of our Facility Needs and Building Ownership
• Exploration and Pursuit of Strategic Alliances with fellow specialized Accreditors Assessment Based
• Continuous Improvement (ABCI) for Every Department 

Some of these initiatives have already started to bear results that members will see in their weekly communications.

Speaking of weekly communications, we try to limit our emails to members to about once a week, save for the occasional twice in a week. It is important to note if you ever unsubscribe from one email, that you are subscribing forever from all ACBSP emails. This has come up in the past, so please keep in mind if you ever feel the need to do so.

And if you do unsubscribe then you will not see the Call for Nominations for our Teaching Excellence Awards (TEA) Awards. As an organization whose primary focus is teaching excellence and students, it is one of the most important things we do for our members. This fall, I encourage you to consider nominating one of your colleagues, or even nominating yourself for this prestigious honor. I look forward to recognizing this year’s recipients at the upcoming annual conference.

Further, please remember the Transnational Journal of Business (TJB) will be released at ACBSP Conference ‘23. We welcome your scholarly submissions for consideration for our next edition.

ACBSP Conference 2023

I do hope everyone is aware we will be hosting our next conference from June 28-July 2, 2023, at our most popular venue, the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile. It is important to note we will not be offering a virtual platform next year, with hopes that all interested members will be able to attend in person.

All the details for this and other activities can be found online at acbsp.org.

Remembering a Dear Friend

I began this column by taking a deep breath, and I will conclude it the same way, as I note the passing of an extraordinary leader who became a dear friend of mine, and I suspect to many of you. The world lost an icon when Peregrine Global Services Co-Founder, and its President & CEO, Dr. Olin Oedekoven, passed away in October after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer the previous year. He was an inspiration to us all and he was the type of person whom I admired deeply. Many of you knew Olin, and his wife, Laurel, and he will be missed. The Peregrine company remains in solid hands, so rest assured their services will go uninterrupted.

I will truly miss Olin and his legacy will not be forgotten.

Respectfully, Jeffrey Alderman.