REPURPOSING MCMASTER

Business at McMaster has been a constant source of controversy over the last 12 years. When Paul Bates was appointed dean of DeGroote in 2004, some faculty members attempted to have him removed in the belief that his Bay St. success was less important than his lack of a university degree. The selection committee recommended the administration appoint an academic as the associate dean, common at other universities, but this was never followed.

By his contract renewal in 2008, 80 per cent of the faculty opposed his reappointment. They were overruled by the university’s board of governors. His greatest achievement in building the Ron Joyce Centre in Burlington to house the school’s MBA program in addition to the increasing number of students and the public reputation of the school trending upwards was enough.

A later report stated a culture defined by “bullying, harassment, mean-spirited sarcasm, intimidation and disrespect,” resulted in dissension and lead to several faculty members turning to medication for depression, anxiety and stress-related illnesses. He resigned in 2010.

In 2013, three professors were suspended without pay for three years, two faced shorter suspensions and one was reprimanded. Two groups had developed before the resignation, critics and supporters of the dean, which resulted in disputes before and after the resignation.

The tribunal recommending this course of action argued that these critics were, “seemingly unconcerned about whether allegations [against Mr. Bates] were real, embellished, or even false.” This group was also accused by the dean’s supporters of interfering in decisions about their careers and tenure.

In October of this year, an Ontario appeals court reduced the suspensions in this harassment case and ordered the university to compensate the faculty members for the difference in duration.

The public reputation of the DeGroote School of Business, the internal culture of the university, hiring practices and general human resources have all been altered significantly over the last 12 years. However, assuming a lack of persisting internal problems, the future and the current contributions from the School of Business, including dean Leonard Waverman, are extremely positive and should represent a source of inspiration to any faculty.

The first notable point is how the dean’s experience in international telecommunications and global resources management has changed the faculty. Most evident in the launch of a new Executive MBA in Digital Transformation with theScore Inc. as founding partners, the focus on technology and understanding globalization has defined a goal and focus for the faculty that has modern relevancy.

John Levy, theScore’s founder and CEO, stated, “companies are being [digitally] disrupted all the time and there is a lack of understanding of how to cope with that. We wanted to do something to have an impact on how modern businesses work.”

Companies are being [digitally] disrupted all the time and there is a lack of understanding of how to cope with that.
John Levy
Founder and CEO theScore

James Bigg, manager of communications at theScore, added that the digital world, “is moving so fast that if you don’t stay ahead of the game, you’ll be left behind. This program will offer tangible results for organization.”

This shift can also be noted recently with the three-day alumni panels hosted last month at the Ron Joyce Centre as part of the newly-redesigned MBA program. Reforms like cohort classes, integrated case studies and Foundation Weeks dedicated to sessions with faculty and industry professional are additional components to this modernization.

Adeel Abbasi, who drove large-scale digital transformations at companies like Adobe and CIBC, stated, “Almost everywhere I’ve been, digital is growing while other areas are being consolidated… Think of an enterprise like Uber: they’re one of the largest transportation companies on earth, but they have no fleet. Airbnb has become a world leader in accommodations, but they own no properties. Every sector is being impacted by digital change.”

While it seems obvious to shift to modern technology and interactions as an area of focus, other areas of the school should be learning from this. Developing Mosaic, while still with a large assortment of issues, and embracing WebEx as a web conferencing tool represent a similar idea in updating previously stale or non-existent tools. While these have been larger university issues, DeGroote has represented one of the few examples of a faculty actively moving towards this as a core part of its education.

In more traditional courses, the lack of technology use and a lack of focus on how interconnected people are remains an issue. This generally ranges from professors not using all the options already available on Avenue to aid the accessibility of the material, the fact that so few courses having the ability to access podcasts or recorded lectures and fundamental issues with the curriculum that advocate for old methods in modern times. The capability to add more to each course with what is already in place and the capability to add more real world relevancy is apparent.

While the increasing advocacy for course feedback may indirectly result in changes, the issue remains that this is done on a course-by-course basis rather than a directed change by each faculty’s management.

Having clear direction, objective and way to elevate the prestige of the program above competitors should be on the agenda for any faculty. It does not need to be digitally focused, but a five year plan should be more than generic and subjective improvement of what is already in place. All it takes is a focus, a direction and a desired endpoint.

The other big adjustment made is the coordination between DeGroote and other faculties. One of the only ways to mix faculties currently in the majority of undergrad experiences is roommates, electives or through clubs. While a career may filter you into an area with likeminded people with similar degrees, there is still a divide present between academia and real life. Understanding the perspectives of other people, expanding your knowledge base outside of bird courses and knowing how to interact with people outside of the limitations of your faculty are all underrepresented lessons at McMaster.

The most notable example of this is the upcoming launch of the Integrated Business and Humanities program that follows a long tradition of McMaster innovation and experimentation. Introducing this program, set to launch in Fall 2017, has been considered since Leonard Waverman’s hiring as dean in 2013.

Ken Cruikshank, dean of the Faculty of Humanities, stated “The 21st century knowledge economy needs people skilled in communication, collaboration and creativity. These are precisely the qualities that a humanities education helps to foster.” This program and coordination with another faculty helps fill the gaps in education and reinforce important areas that may not be fully covered otherwise.

We have already seen the effects of diversified post-secondary with the success of McMaster initiatives such as the Arts and Science program. Similar to the Integrated Business and Humanities program, the emphasis on active, self-directed and cooperative learning in addition to the development of transferable skills leaves students with a large base of skills and knowledge to work with.

The Integrated Business and Humanities program, with a target enrolment of 80 students, will follow a near identical formula as Arts and Science’s target enrolment of 60 first-year students.

Almost everywhere I've been, digital is growing while other areas are being consolidated.
Adele Abbasi
Digital Transformation Leader, Adobe

Arts and Science is mentioned in the Forward with Integrity paper by current president Patrick Deane as the program, “was a determined attempt to escape the constraints of a discipline or department-centred curriculum and to create a program that would effectively answer by example the concern that undergraduate education cannot thrive in a research-intensive university.”

The paper continues to state that the program continued to have an influence on innovations such as the medical program with self-directed and problem-based learning, and the Engineering and Management program.

The 21st century knowledge economy needs people skilled in communication, collaboration and creativity. These are precisely the qualities that a humanities education helps to foster.
Ken Cruikshank
Dean, Faculty of Humanities 

These are simply the next steps of long-standing McMaster traditions. The new Integrated Biomedical Engineering and Health Sciences Program is also a great continuation of this concept, and additional faculties should take the examples set by DeGroote in addition to McMaster’s past and present to explore similar options.

Despite recent controversies and history, the DeGroote School of Business has been able to push through this adversity to be a great example for the rest of the university to follow. With the technological shifts, general interaction and interactions with other faculties, DeGroote has managed to advance and modernize its education by finding appropriate inspiration from the past and from Patrick Deane.

While most of us will have graduated by the time the full effects are felt around campus, the sense of pride knowing the school continues in a positive direction is one I am glad to have.