Graduate Programs Leadership

After more than five years of leading COB Graduate Business Programs, Ingrid Martin will be returning to faculty at the end of next summer. When Ingrid started 5 years ago as Director of Graduate Business Programs, there were only 3 versions of the MBA program and now we have 8 programs in total. Building off of what David Horne started, Ingrid has guided graduate programs to a level where the next director can bring his or her vision and guidance to the graduate business programs.  Ingrid will continue to be engaged in the graduate programs and will provide all the support needed to keep COB on a positive upward trajectory.

Ingrid undertook several initiatives to develop our alumni relations, and these include:

  • Creation of an MBA Advisory Board
  • Alumni mixers
  • Alumni newsletter - bimonthly
  • Formal structure for the Graduate Business Student Organization that is the foundation to prepare our students to prepare to be alumni

Ingrid also restructured and refocused the AMBA program; it went from a low of 16 students in a 13-month program with no focus in 2016 to 30 students and a focus on Entrepreneurship & Innovation in a 21-month program.  It has an internship requirement that now has 100% of our students placed in an internship. Other accomplishments that shine through Ingrid’s leadership are:

  • Working together, Richard Okumoto and Ingrid created the OMBA program that is an important part of the future of the COB and grad programs.
  • She developed a strong marketing program that is customized to fit each graduate program.
  • She is working with a great group of faculty directors to grow COB’s new MS programs.
  • Ingrid is currently working to update the SMBA program as competition in the region has become more intense and our numbers have gone from 30+ to 15 over a 3-year period.

I cannot thank Ingrid enough for all her efforts over the last 5 years to strengthen and improve Graduate Business Programs. Ingrid has been tireless in her efforts to create new programs and to develop a great staff. Ingrid has always been committed to our graduate programs 100% and successfully grew our 3 programs into an excellent portfolio of 8 MBA/MS programs. I value greatly all that she has done and how hard she has worked to make Graduate Business Programs the best they can be. It has been my pleasure to work with Ingrid all these years.

With 8 current programs, managing the ongoing operations of Graduate Business Programs has become more complex. The method of managing operations was much simpler when there were only 3 versions of the MBA program. With this in mind, the next task is for the Dean’s Office and Grad Programs office to evaluate all that needs to be done from recruiting, marketing, and staffing to getting students through their programs and developing alumni relations. Because so much organizational and operational work needs to be done so that Graduate Business Programs can be managed and run effectively, I am thinking of appointing an Interim Director for one year to help guide us through this period. More on this later.

Thanks,

Dean Solt