Staff and Faculty Share Their Excitement for Michigan Ross Los Angeles
Michigan Ross held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Sept. 3 to officially open its 20,000-square-foot Los Angeles campus. The facility features state-of-the-art classrooms, study rooms, collaborative workspaces, and indoor and outdoor event spaces, as well as a flexible space that can be easily transformed into a venue for conferences and events.
Several staff and faculty members shared why they’re excited about the new campus and the opportunities it will open up for our degree programs and the broader Michigan Ross community.
Itay Kama
Clinical Assistant Professor of Accounting
Clyne Crawford Teaching Fellow
What are you most excited about with Michigan Ross Los Angeles?
What excites me most about Michigan Ross Los Angeles is its potential to make in-person learning exceptionally interactive. Face-to-face interaction among students and between students and faculty is an irreplaceable source of value in the Executive MBA Program, where participants bring substantial professional experience and diverse perspectives to every discussion.
That interaction is central to my courses, which emphasize case-based learning and incorporate breakout sessions as an integral part of the learning process. The new campus is designed to support this approach, with classrooms, breakout rooms, gathering areas, and shared dining spaces that make it easy for students to collaborate, exchange ideas, and engage in lively discussions. This interactive environment aligns closely with my teaching philosophy, which focuses on helping students understand decision-making processes, consider different perspectives, develop the ability to ask the right questions, and ultimately make informed decisions under uncertainty.
I look forward to using these spaces to deepen engagement while connecting classroom learning with Los Angeles’ diverse and innovative business ecosystem. The campus’s intentional design and location will support the kind of human interaction that makes Executive MBA learning distinctive.
Sue Ann Gonis
Executive Leadership Coach
Senior Associate Director, EMBA Career Advancement
What are you most excited about with Michigan Ross Los Angeles?
What excites me most about our new Ross LA campus is that, for the first time since our LA EMBA Program began in 2012, our students and professors and staff have a place that truly feels like their own. It is a space designed specifically for EMBA students to learn, collaborate, build community, and create lasting connections. The moment I arrive on campus, I feel the Ross experience come to life in a way we have never had before in Los Angeles. I’m especially excited that it will be a place our students can continue to come back to long after graduation for executive education, alumni events, and continued connection with the Ross community.
Lindsay Chmielewski
Los Angeles Campus Manager
Student Affairs Program Manager
Executive MBA
What are you most excited about with Michigan Ross Los Angeles?
Our Los Angeles campus will help West Coast students and alumni feel more connected to the broader Ross community. It’s a space we are proud to call our own and where we can welcome prospective students and community partners. For years, Ross held EMBA residencies in Los Angeles-area hotels, so I’m especially excited to finally have a permanent home base in Los Angeles. I’m also looking forward to working with our on-site team to make each residency feel seamless and intentionally designed for the student experience.
