May 2025 Message from the Dean

Dear Colleagues,

I want to start by acknowledging the change of presidential leadership at the University of Michigan. As Santa Ono moves on from his role, Dominico Grasso, PhD ’87, is now serving as our university’s interim president while the Board of Regents launches the search for the permanent replacement. President Grasso is well-respected across the U-M system, having been chancellor of the Dearborn campus since 2018. His deep knowledge of U-M and thoughtful, reasoned leadership style will be very valuable in a smooth transition. 

And congratulations on wrapping up another successful academic year! At our Michigan Ross Commencement ceremony, we heard from some great student speakers: Michael Hartt, BBA ’25, Christian Brymer, MBA ’25, Jaden Douglas, BBA ’25/BMA ’25, and Priya Varshika Ganji, MM ’25. Our keynote address was delivered by André Branch, MBA ’99, a C-suite executive with more than 25 years of experience leading and building brands in the consumer packaged goods and luxury sectors. Anyone interested can access the recording of the Ross Commencement ceremony in case you missed it or want to see it again. 

As a follow-up, I am pleased to report that the career placement statistics so far for our May MBA graduates are on par with last year, our BBAs are up a bit, and our One-Year Master’s placements are trailing a little. Given the economic and geopolitical uncertainties, these results are quite strong and on par with or slightly ahead of what our peer schools are experiencing.

While we’ve been busy celebrating our graduates, we also recently took time to recognize the incredible contributions of our faculty and staff at the annual Faculty and Staff Awards. This event is always a highlight for me. It is such an honor to recognize those in our community who make such a meaningful impact here. A heartfelt thank you to the Staff Recognition Committee and Executive Committee for their thoughtful work in selecting this year’s honorees and helping to organize the celebration.

In other celebratory news, I am pleased to share that the regents confirmed faculty promotions on May 15. Please join me in congratulating Yesim Orhun, who was promoted to full professor of marketing, and Maggie Zhou, who was promoted to full professor of strategy. In addition to these promotions, the regents also confirmed a title change for Carolyn Yoon, now associate dean for community and global initiatives.

While this season of celebrations is very exciting, it can also feel very busy. I hope you enjoyed our meeting-free day and took advantage of some uninterrupted work time. It was also fun to host the Dean’s Coffee Hour that day. 

Coming up, we are planning some summer gatherings. The first one will be on Tuesday, June 17, from 3:30-5 p.m. in the S. Scott Stewart Lobby, with additional events on Wednesday, July 16 and Tuesday, Aug. 5. These gatherings are an opportunity to unwind, enjoy some light refreshments, and catch up with colleagues from across the school.

I am also looking forward to our upcoming summer strategy sessions to reflect on our mission and ensure Ross is a place where every person can do their best work. Past summer discussions, based on our Strategy Map, have helped reinforce our focus on addressing important business challenges of our time. This summer, we’ll center our discussions around technology disruption, with particular emphasis on artificial intelligence. Your voice and perspective are so important, and I hope you’ll join one of the following sessions:

• Wednesday, July 23 from 10-11 a.m. in Corner Commons (staff only RSVP)
• Thursday, July 24 from 10-11 a.m. in Corner Commons (faculty only RSVP)
• Wednesday, July 30 from 1-2 p.m. in Corner Commons (faculty and staff RSVP)

As usual, my upcoming office hours for June can be found on the dean’s office webpage. In June, in-person office hours for faculty and staff will be held in the Davidson Winter Garden on the following dates and times.

• June 10 from 4:15-5 p.m.
• June 17 from 2:30-3:15 p.m.

The Zoom office hours for faculty and staff will be held on June 24 from 4:15-5 p.m. Please contact Heather Cooper for an invite with the link to join.

Before I close, I’m happy to share that my latest Down to Business podcast features Alexander Hardy, MBA ’92, president and CEO of BioMarin Pharmaceutical, and former CEO of Genentech. We covered topics including taking calculated risks, learning from failure, the social contract between patients and biotech companies, and strategies for effective leadership. You can listen to that episode here.

I hope you enjoyed Memorial Day weekend. As you gear up for the summer months ahead, you may want to check out the peony gardens at Nichols Arboretum!

Kind regards,

Sharon