Robert L. Tillman School of Business

DEAN'S MESSAGE

The Tillman School of Business provides students with a fundamental knowledge of business functions and processes as well as understanding of the free enterprise system. The programs of the Tillman School of Business prepare students for numerous career opportunities in the public and private sectors. In all majors, strong efforts are made to familiarize students with the problems and opportunities of modern economic life and to prepare them for intelligent citizenship and further educational development.

Over the coming months, Mount Olive College’s Tillman School of Business will see several exciting and challenging initiatives unfold. We are developing an ambitious strategic plan that will guide the School for the next several years as it moves forward to offer graduate programs. The overarching vision for the Tillman School of Business is to become a regionally-recognized fully accredited school of business and a highly visible school of choice in North Carolina for those who seek the pursuit of excellence in business education and responsible leadership.

Following the progress made last fall, the Tillman School of Business is advancing its strategic initiatives. Our students, faculty & staff have a strong sense of optimism & energy about our collective future & the possibilities that lie ahead for the School. I am especially grateful to those members of the faculty & staff who have assumed a progressive leadership role.

This is a transformational year for the Tillman School as we embark not only upon our goal to become a leading business school in the region, but to more concretely contribute to the region's further development. We continue to implement key elements of the plan outlined last fall - enhancing our reputation; improving the quality & value proposition of programs; student experiences, classroom instruction; strengthening faculty scholarship & outreach to our business communities.

Among other activities, in recent months, we:

1. Assembled a strong leadership team

2. Created greater educational value with an improved Health Care Management program

3. Created greater educational value with an improved the Management & Organizational Development program

4. Launched a Task Force to redesign the Management Information Systems program

5. Audited the School's programs & processes for ACBSP accreditation

6. Further formalized the development of the Tillman School Advisory Board

7. Prepared a Tillman School Learning Outcomes Assessment rubric

8. Advanced the development of interdisciplinary & international initiatives with the School of Arts & Sciences

9. Launched a distinguished speaker series & began inviting eminent persons to address the School, including: US Senators J. McCain, E. Dole & R. Burr, Mr. J. Edwards, & Mr. Al Gore.

To serve the growing demand for a new paradigm in management education - emphasizing innovation & entrepreneurship to produce graduates with the skills & insights needed to launch new ventures, lead the development of new, economically significant enterprises, & drive transformational change, the School is re-evaluating its curriculum & co-curricular programs as well as assessing the establishment of a business institute focusing economic development, entrepreneurship & innovation.
This will be a pivotal year at the Tillman School. I am indebted to the enthusiastic involvement of our alumni, faculty, staff & students. Together we are architects of our future.

Most respectfully,

K.M. Stokes, Ph.D.
Dean & Professor of Business

Angela Pearsall

Administrative Assistant to the Dean

Tel: 919-658-7682

E-mail: apearsall@moc.edu