"The professors in the School of Business and Technology at St. Scholastica enjoy helping students find and achieve their dreams. It doesn't matter if those dreams are finding a job, starting a club, or even bettering your life; they are there for you."

Bethany Hodgson
Undergraduate student
School of Business and Technology 

Message from the Dean  

The School of Business and Technology has a strong, new identity! We have had an excellent Management department for 34 years, delivering high quality education in leadership, accounting, economics, finance, marketing, and other business disciplines. Now we have combined with the Computer Information Systems (CIS) department (established in 1984) to create one of the finest schools of business and technology in the region. Our strengths are:

• Student engagement - with small class sizes (typically 14 students or less), faculty who have both worked in industry and taught at the college level, and a growing internship program, our students receive time and attention unmatched by larger institutions.
• Commitment to professional excellence - our courses and programs are developed by experienced faculty, business leaders and administrators with both academic rigor and the “real world” in mind.
• Educating principled leaders who have a strong sense of community, respect for others and rock-solid commitment to ethical practices and social responsibility.
• Combining our expertise in management and technology with our excellent nursing and health sciences schools to enhance our reputation in the healthcare field.

Working with business leaders, students, alumni and faculty, the School of Business and Technology has created new mission, vision and values statements. Each of us as faculty and administrators are setting goals - known as Key Performance Indicators - to determine whether we are achieving that mission and vision. Our new direction will include:

• Internationalizing our curriculum and adding opportunities for study abroad in Russia to those already in place in Ireland, China and Mexico.
• Starting new student-led initiatives in corporate social responsibility.
• Embodying ethics across our curriculum and in many extracurricular activities.
• Expanding graduate programs in management, healthcare management, and information technology leadership.
• Increasing the number and quality of student internships.
• Building collaborations with top-notch local and global schools of business and technology and business partners.
• Creating new financial resources to improve the quality and effectiveness of our school.

My efforts as dean will be spent about 60% on external activities (creating new resources, building the reputation of the school) and 40% on internal matters (student engagement, curriculum, faculty development, and administration). We have two superb department chairs: Bob Hartl in Management and Tom Gibbons in CIS, and an excellent, hard working faculty who I’m confident know how to teach well and work effectively with students.

A note to parents, graduate students, business and community leaders and other stakeholders in our school: we need your help! Please volunteer your time to serve on development committees, as guest lecturers, mentors to students, and in other important ways. As dean, I need your ideas, advice and financial support to create a nationally-recognized school - a goal I’m firmly convinced we can accomplish.

Remember that today’s business climate is more challenging than ever. It is global, fast-paced, and ever-changing. It’s also risky, full of pitfalls and opportunities to emphasize profit over principles and values. We must work together to educate and prepare highly principled, effective business leaders to succeed in this daunting environment!

Bob Sherman
Dean School of Business and Technology
College of St. Scholastica
1200 Kenwood Avenue
Duluth, MN 55811
1-800-447-5444 or (218) 723-6112

“LEADERS are defined by their values and their character. The values of the authentic leader are shaped by personal beliefs, developed through study, introspection, and consultation with others--and a lifetime of experience. These values define their holder's moral compass. Such leaders know the "true north" of their compass, the deep sense of the right thing to do. Without a moral compass, any leader can wind up like the executives who are facing possible prison sentences today because they lacked a sense of right and wrong.”

Bill George
Former CEO of Medtronic
Member of Board of Directors, Goldman Sachs