June 2025 Message from the Dean

Dear Colleagues,

I hope your summer is going well so far and that you are surviving this heat!

Despite our students being off on internships, and many faculty traveling to conferences to present their work, there is still a lot going on here on campus. At the end of May, we had an open house for our temporary space at the State Street Campus. Thanks to the many of you who came to check it out — it was great to see how nicely the space came together, and those working there are enjoying the open workspace design elements. This is a great asset to have while construction is underway on the Executive Residence and Wyly Hall.  

The past two weeks, we have also had 68 high school students here for our Summer Business Academy. This program is designed to give them exposure to foundational concepts in business and a preview of what it would be like to be a student here at Ross. Many thanks to all of our staff and faculty who made this possible. We also hosted an executive education program for emerging leaders from each of the NFL teams. The program was extremely well received, and it was no surprise that they enjoyed their visit to the Big House, too! All of this is in addition to all of the great work going on to support our research mission, including hosting academic research gatherings such as the Global Business and Comparative Corporate Governance Research Conference that Professor Jordan Siegel organized, and many of our faculty participated in.

A bit farther afield, we hosted the 2025 Michigan Ross Innovation Conference in San Francisco.  This event is designed to be perceived as a “must-attend” event for influential alums in the technology innovation and entrepreneurship fields. This is the second year we organized this conference, and the sessions this year focused on emerging trends in autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, and healthcare innovation. It was my pleasure to moderate the keynote “fireside chat” with alumnus Amir Rubin, MBA ’96, who has had a transformative career at the intersection of technology and healthcare. A special thanks to our Advancement and Events teams for organizing this, and also to Assistant Professor Gregg Latterman, who moderated a panel discussion with a set of founders who shared fascinating insights about how new technologies are reshaping where the opportunities are and what the potential sources of enduring competitive advantage will be in the future. 

Back in Ann Arbor, I also enjoyed reconnecting with faculty and staff at our first Summer Gathering earlier this month. We had a great turnout, and I enjoyed catching up with many of you and hearing about your summer plans. I hope to see everyone again at our next gatherings on July 16 and Aug. 5 at 3:30 p.m. in the S. Scott Stewart Lobby. I also look forward to seeing staff at our annual Summer Staff Soiree on July 23 from 3-5 p.m. in the Davidson Winter Garden. These events are a nice excuse to get together to unwind, socialize, and enjoy the summer together.

In the coming month, we will also host our summer strategy sessions to help advance our mission of building a better world through business and to work further on making Michigan Ross a place where everyone can do their best work. This year’s strategy sessions will be focused on technology disruption, with particular emphasis on artificial intelligence. Please RSVP to one of the following sessions to share your thoughts and perspectives if you are in town.

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

• July 1 from 4:15-5 p.m.
• July 8 from 4:15-5 p.m.
• July 15 from 4:15-5 p.m.
• July 22 from 4:15-5 p.m.

The Zoom office hours for faculty and staff will be held on July 29 from 4:15-5 p.m. Please contact Heather Cooper for an invite with the link to join.

Have a great summer, and I look forward to connecting with you soon at our upcoming events.

Kind regards,

Sharon

P.S. Here are some photos you might enjoy of sample PR in the LA area for our new facility there.