McFarlin Reappointed to Third Term as Business Dean

Dr. Dean B. McFarlin has been reappointed by President Ken Gormley to a third three-year term as dean of the Palumbo-Donahue School of Business. He has been serving as business dean since July 2013.

“I’m thrilled that Dean McFarlin has agreed to continue to serve as dean,” said Gormley. “He has consistently led the school and business faculty with professionalism, imagination and vision. From the school’s inspirational strategic plan to the launch of new academic programs to the renovations and modernization of numerous floors of Rockwell Hall, Dean has successfully steered the Palumbo-Donahue School of Business through a major transformation.”

With a focus on students at the school’s core, McFarlin has emphasized the importance of “innovating” to ensure that everything the school offers—especially its programs—supports what has become the guiding principle: The Business of Difference Making®.

“Our shared mission is to help students become ethical business professionals who have a positive impact on their organizations as well as society,” McFarlin states in his Dean’s Message. “We focus on developing responsible leaders with entrepreneurial mindsets who challenge conventional thinking, seize new opportunities and make a difference in the business world and beyond.

With this in mind, McFarlin and his leadership team, along with faculty, have collaborated to carry out the business school’s commitment to its mission. To date, the following noteworthy achievements have taken place or are in progress:

• Create a Palumbo-Donahue School of Business strategic plan. This plan, Palumbo-Donahue 2025, was finalized in 2019 and is underway.
• Establish and execute a master plan to renovate Rockwell Hall (in conjunction with the strategic plan), which opened in 1958. To date, the sixth-floor skywalk has been completely rebuilt, and important renovations made to the first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and ninth floors of Rockwell.
• Significantly enhance alumni and corporate engagement and partnerships. Six new advisory councils have been launched.
• An Executive-in Residence (EIR) Program was instituted. With the help of Duquesne’s deep connections to Pittsburgh businesses and organizations, 20 EIRs have been appointed who support classes, teach, conduct co-curricular activities and more.
• Successfully completed AACSB Continuous Improvement Review process, resulting in the school’s reaccreditation for another five years and praise for its strategic plan.

Other examples of progress include academic initiatives aligned with the business school’s strategic plan and offering a horizon-expanding education, including master’s degrees in analytics and information management, as well as supply chain management that both include certificate options. A first-year innovation experience was implemented for all freshmen, and the Duquesne New Venture Challenge was developed.

The business school also redesigned the undergraduate marketing major, started the $1 million student-run Duquesne Values Fund and created seven new named faculty positions that include fellowships and professorships.

“I am most grateful for the tremendous work and commitment of our faculty, staff, alumni, friends and corporate partners on behalf of the School and our students,” said McFarlin. “All of the accomplishments we have achieved are the result of their collective efforts. I look forward to the challenges ahead while also remembering that I am merely a temporary steward charged with moving the school forward. Being reappointed as dean is a humbling privilege, and there is nothing better than working together to embrace the opportunities that beckon with passion, innovation and grit.”