Mission and Strategy
Strategic Initiatives
Our strategic initiatives provide guidance and direction for every decision we make. That includes proposed new courses, experiential learning opportunities, partnerships, and programs. They help us ensure that everything we do moves us toward achieving these goals. Our vision is to provide the best curricular and co-curricular experiences in the nation for our students. The outcomes of these initiatives will result in meaningful careers that will allow our graduates to constantly learn, grow and make a positive impact in the world, both today and in the future.
Steering Committee
Co-Chairs
- David Eyman // Associate Lecturer & FSB Director of Innovation
- Xiaowen Huang // Chair, Bill Moeckel Business Professor
Members
- Brian Ballou // EY Professor of Accounting, William Isaac & Michael Oxley Center for Business Leadership Co-Founder, Miami MBA Faculty Director & Professor
- Kirk Bogard // Associate Vice President for Development & External Relations
- Allison Jones Farmer // Van Andel Professor of Business Analytics, MSBA Faculty Director & Professor
- Joel Harper // Professor & Chair
- Gillian Oakenfull // Professor & Faculty Director of Diversity and Inclusion
- Drew Reffett // Associate Dean for Educational Excellence & Professor of Accountancy
- Melissa Thomasson // Associate Dean for Faculty Excellence & Professor of Economics
Ex-Officio Members
- Jenny Darroch // Dean and Mitchell P. Rales Chair in Business Leadership & Professor
- Annika Fourman // Financial Coordinator
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do we need a strategic plan? An effective strategic plan will unify the Farmer School of Business around a common vision and shared values, align resources to critical priorities, and outline a clear roadmap for meaningful action.
What are the key components of a strategic plan? Please see here for a description of the strategic plan components including the mission, vision, and values.
Who is involved in the process? A Steering Committee of FSB faculty and staff is leading the development of the strategic plan. Throughout the process, we will also engage other faculty and staff in addition to students, alumni, industry and community partners, and more through focus groups, interviews, and surveys.
How can I participate? We appreciate your interest and welcome your participation! We encourage you to provide your ideas via the online idea box and to view regular updates on the strategic planning website.
Strategic Plan Timeline
- Phase 0: Pre-Planning – August 2024
- Phase 1: Strengthen Our Shared Understanding – August – September 2024
- Phase 2: Develop and Prioritize Strategic Options – October 2024
- Phase 3: Draft Strategic Plan – November – December 2024
- Phase 4: Finalize Plan and Prepare for Execution – December 2024
Strategic Plan Components
- Mission: What is our School’s broad and enduring mission or purpose?
- Vision: To what end should we direct our efforts and resources over the next five years?
- Winning Aspiration: What is our School’s day-to-day commitment?
- Values: What are the values that drive our behaviors and decision-making?
- Priority Areas of Focus: What key areas of activity will primarily help us realize our vision?
- Signature Initiatives: What are the most important initiatives that will help us realize our vision in this period?
- Success Measures: How will we know we are successful?
- Execution Capabilities: What capabilities and resources will be required to support implementation?
Offer the best curricular and co-curricular student experience in the nation by focusing on both the academic and the personal experience.
To achieve this, we will:
- Offer new programs, and adapt existing programs, to ensure our students are well-trained and ready to launch or enhance their professional careers.
- Continue to find innovative ways to extend the academic experience beyond the classroom.
- Focus on the whole person by offering co-curricular activities that emphasize leadership development, health, happiness, purpose, community and
- Partner with people from the industry who infuse their experiences to help shape the most relevant takeaways and ensure our curriculum remains business aligned.
Graduate students who are beyond ready to launch and enjoy meaningful careers.
To do this, we must:
- Increase the percentage of our students who have jobs 90 days after graduation.
- Increase the average starting salaries of our graduates.
- Ensure all students have the opportunity for at least one, if not two, internships prior to graduation.
Attract, graduate, and place a high-quality, diverse student body.
This includes:
- Increasing the number of applications and enrollment of diverse students.
- Increasing the pool of applicants to the School and raising the average ACT score of accepted students.
- Improving the retention rate of enrolled students.
Strengthen relationships with key stakeholders to enhance the reputation and visibility of the School and provide long-term financial sustainability.
To do this, we will:
- Connect with alumni, parents, corporate partners, and friends who can offer internships, learning opportunities, mentoring, and jobs for students.
- Secure additional financial resources to attract and retain well-qualified students and faculty, across a diverse spectrum.
- Secure additional financial resources to support initiatives around curricular advancement, innovative leadership, global preparedness, etc.
- Recognize, celebrate, and publicize the successes of our students, faculty, alumni, and programs.
Promote excellence in teaching and research, which includes our strong links with practice.
Steps towards achieving this include:
- Recruiting, retaining, and developing faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds and striving to create an inclusive community for all.
- Facilitating opportunities for faculty to collaborate with businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies.
- Increasing external funding for research.
- Encouraging faculty to increase the visibility of their research to build a national reputation.
- Continuing to support research that produces both rigorous and relevant contributions to knowledge.
- Continuing to support innovative teaching and programs that reflect an integrated skills-based approach to learning.
Learning Goals and Objectives
The FSB has five learning goals. The goals describe what we would like all of our students to achieve by graduation. For each learning goal, we have articulated multiple specific and measurable objectives.
Learning Goal 1: Critical and Creative Thinking
Students graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Business from the Farmer School of Business at Miami University will deploy the concepts and skills necessary to analyze and evaluate information and to make informed, creative decisions in complex, data-rich, ambiguous environments.
- Learning Objective 1: Students will render data into useful information for problem-solving.
- Learning Objective 2: Students will develop creative solutions to business problems.
- Learning Objective 3: Students will be able to adapt their thinking appropriately for various contexts.
Learning Goal 2: Technology
Students graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Business from the Farmer School of Business at Miami University will be able to use data-rich analytical techniques, technological tools, and computational thinking.
- Learning Objective 1: Students will apply computational thinking to business problems and draw relevant conclusions/insights.
- Learning Objective 2: Students will apply appropriate technological tools in support of business decision-making.
Learning Goal 3: Communication & Collaboration
Students graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Business from the Farmer School of Business at Miami University will be skilled communicators who adapt to changing purposes, audiences, and contexts, work well in teams, and use multiple media to communicate in digital, global networks.
- Learning Objective 1: Students will produce professional communications that are effective for audience, purpose, context, and media.
- Learning Objective 2: Students will use appropriate technologies for the design, development, and delivery of communications.
- Learning Objective 3: Students will engage others (e.g., colleagues, collaborators, audiences, communities) to foster productive professional communications and interactions.
Learning Goal 4: Globalization and Diversity
Students will be prepared to function effectively in a competitive business environment because of their awareness and understanding of diversity and its implications for doing business, and their ability to develop solutions to business opportunities and challenges in a global environment.
- Learning Objective 1: Students will diagnose the extent to which diversity and culture have an impact on business operations and decisions.
- Learning Objective 2: Students will adapt their analyses of business opportunities and challenges to incorporate a global perspective.
Learning Goal 5: Ethics
Students graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Business from the Farmer School of Business at Miami University will deploy the concepts and skills necessary to make ethical decisions in complex, ambiguous environments.
- Learning Objective 1: Students will recognize ethical issues in business situations.
- Learning Objective 2: Students will apply ethical frameworks to business problems.
- Learning Objective 3: Students will describe the ethical consequences of decision alternatives.
The Principles that Define, Differentiate, and Drive Our Culture
Strategic Innovation and Informed Risk-Taking
- We champion bold ideas and encourage innovative thinking in those around us.
- We take well-reasoned and responsible risk and accept failure graciously.
- As stewards of our organization, we take the long-term view and think about the welfare of others, beyond our own self-interests.
Knowledge Creation and Business Education for Life
- We value the discovery and development of new knowledge through the process of responsible and honest inquiry and curiosity in all forms.
- Our goal is to create intellectual, economic, and social value for the world.
Engagement
- We are a community dedicated to intellectual engagement.
- We strive to work, act, and live compassionately, demonstrating this through volunteering, service, mentorship, and sharing our resources with our various communities.
Leadership for The Greater Good - "Prodesse Quam Conspici"
- We lead others through our example of integrity, respect, and accountability.
- We demonstrate leadership through our trust, encouragement, collaboration, and empathy.
Inclusion
- By our living, working, studying, and teaching, we bring our unique talents, viewpoints, and life experiences together for the benefit of all.
- We are dedicated to being an inclusive learning environment based upon an atmosphere of mutual respect, which invites all campus citizens to explore how they think about knowledge, about themselves, and about how they see themselves in relation to others.
Farmer School of Business
