October 2025 Message from the Dean

Dear Colleagues,

I hope you are enjoying the fall semester so far. I wanted to share a few highlights from over the past month:

• We created a short video clip highlighting the first “unicorn” investment from the Wolverine Venture Fund. Histosonics sold for $2.25b, due in no small part to the WVF team prompting them to pursue the liver cancer treatment market. Their success is a testament to what can happen when Michigan Ross, Michigan Engineering, and Michigan Medicine work together. A special thanks to Erik Gordon and the ZLI team for all that goes into guiding students involved with WVF.
• We also tallied up the value we created through action-based learning at Ross for AY25.  Based on sponsor company reports, we created over $3.6b in revenues and contributed to $120m in cost savings through these projects. This is on top of the experiences the students gained to help them advance their professional skills. The Office of Action-Based Learning folks and the many faculty who teach in these programs have done a terrific job this past year — these statistics are one more indicator of how Ross makes an important impact in the world. OABL has also released its 2024-2025 Impact Report, which further showcases the transformative influence of our action-based learning programs — take a look if you would like to learn more. 
• At the end of September, our Master of Supply Chain Management Program earned the No. 1 spot worldwide in the QS Business Master’s Rankings 2026 for Supply Chain Management. The program scored high across all areas, including value for money, thought leadership, alumni outcomes, diversity, and employability. I greatly appreciate the MSCM team for their hard work and for representing Ross so well on the global stage.
• We also had two milestone anniversaries this month. The Sanger Leadership Center marked its 10th anniversary with a tailgate event on Oct. 18, while the Zell Lurie Institute is celebrating 25 years with a special dinner following its advisory board meeting tonight. It is an honor to help celebrate the impact these teams have had on our Ross community over the years.
• And congratulations to Andy Hoffman! Poets&Quants named him its 2025 MBA Professor of the Year, recognizing his leadership in re-humanizing business education and challenging business schools to rethink their curricula. He was recognized particularly for his course “Management as a Calling” and his belief that business education should help students find purpose and develop character, not just teach technical skills. It is very gratifying to see Andy recognized for his impact on our students here and beyond. Andy also spoke at the recent AACSB Dean’s conference in Toronto on this work.
• Finally, congratulations to Professor Andrew Wu and his collaborators. Their project, “Unlocking the Positive Impact of Generative AI in Higher Education: A 31-University International Consortium,” was named first runner-up for the 2025 Gartner Eye on Innovation Awards for Education in the Americas. Their work involves faculty from 31 universities worldwide to create and test a Google AI platform that helps students learn through interactive AI personas. This work and recognition are also highly impactful for our Ross community.

Turning to some fun activities, we had an excellent turnout for our Fall Flannel Fest on Oct. 8, and I want to thank everyone involved in planning and hosting our annual trick-or-treat event on Oct. 28 for the children of our MBA students — it was great to see all the cute and creative costumes! 

Thank you as well to everyone who participated in the annual Pumpkin Decorating Contest yesterday before the All Staff Meeting. Staff got to vote for their favorite pumpkins, and I’m excited to congratulate our winner — the Career Development Office with their fantastic “Working 9 to Pie” pumpkin! You can view all the amazing entries here. 

Alongside these community gatherings, we hosted the Ross Women’s Weekend and UpClose Weekend on Oct. 23-25. Prospective students connected with current students, alumni, and admissions officers to learn more about the Full-Time MBA Program and our Ross community. Many thanks to the FTMBA Program team for organizing these initiatives.

As always, I welcome the chance to connect with you directly during my office hours, which can be found on the dean’s office webpage. I will hold my November office hours in the Davidson Winter Garden and on the following dates and times:

• Wednesday, Nov. 5, from 4:15-5 p.m.
• Wednesday, Nov. 12, from 4:15-5 p.m.
• Wednesday, Nov. 19, from 4:15-5 p.m.

Thank you, as always, for all you do to advance Michigan Ross and our community.  

Kind regards,

Sharon