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Leveraging stakeholder engagement to reconstitute a diverse business advisory council
Journal of Education Advancement & Marketing,
7
(2),
188-205
(2022)
Abstract
This paper looks at how academic leadership in US business schools and university advancement can work collaboratively to (re)constitute a business advisory council (BAC) comprising a more broadly diverse group of alumni and corporate partners that benefit the school, the students and the philanthropic efforts of the school. Academic leadership receives much-needed ‘real world’ advice and counsel about curricular and strategic issues; council members have an important and meaningful way to contribute to their alma mater or an academic partner in their community. If this council membership is groomed properly, advancement builds an annual donation stream that can be counted on to offset some of the financial pressures and, perhaps, can begin to source and train future candidates for the Board of Trustees. Students not only benefit from better-informed curricula, they also begin to build important network connections with the organisational community that could benefit them when they enter the internship or post-graduation employment market. In short, taking the time and energy to reconstitute a more diverse BAC could be a win-win for all parties involved.
Keywords: advisory council; advisory board; alumni; relations; corporate relations; diversity; equity and inclusion; university advancement
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
John A. Sims is currently President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AJS Consulting Company LLC. He has also worked as an Assistant Professor at Northeastern University’s Graduate School of Business as well as serving in a variety of leadership roles in higher education for over 20 years. These roles included Assistant Dean of the McCallum Graduate School of Business, Leadership Gift Officer and Executive Director of External Relations for Academic Affairs, all at Bentley University. He earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and has 20 years of experience in the high technology marketing and sales sector in addition to his work in higher education.
Roy A. Wiggins is a Trustee Professor of Finance, the Director of the Bentley Microcredit Initiative and a past Dean of Business and the McCallum Graduate School of Business at Bentley University. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in microfinance, corporate and financial strategy, advanced corporate finance topics and equity markets. His research interests include higher education strategy and governance; corporate governance; and corporate expansions such as mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and reverse takeovers. Wiggins holds a Doctor of Philosophy and a Master of Science in Finance from Georgia State University. He has a Bachelor of Arts in English, with a concentration in creative writing from Florida State University.
