Welcome to the HBCU Business Deans roundtable 18th annual conference. This year's theme, Persevering in the Face of Adversity, is appropriate for the resilience exhibited by our institutions over the last 15 months. I want to thank the committee - Dean Fikru Boghossain, Dean Anthony Nelson, Dean Millicent Lownes-Jackson, Dean JoAnn Rolle, and Executive Director Fields Jackson - for creating an interactive and engaging agenda for this year's conference. Over my many years in corporate America, we found that persevering also means innovating, and this is on display as the HBCU Business Deans Roundtable executes its first virtual summit. In addition, we are conducting our first student conference simultaneously with the help of a couple of corporate partners. The conference has a few significant goals:
1. Use the unique platform and technology to create engagement and connections that extend after the culmination of the summit.
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Integrate new deans into the organization of deans, where camaraderie bests institution competition. There should rarely be an occasion when a new dean needs to search for answers when hundreds of years of "dean experience" is available.
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Leverage the technology platform to create opportunities for informal conversations that deepen relationships with sponsors and corporate partners. We all know how powerful the direct relationship with deans can be to access key talent, but both sides must make an effort. Thanks to our sponsors for their continued support.
2. Reinvigorate a platform for our programs to present innovative ideas and research that are forward thinking. The key sessions were sourced from our membership!
3. Learn concepts that may spark new ideas to continue elevating your programs and to accomplish this while having a bit of fun. This was a key ingredient for the formation of this organization.
Lastly, I would like to thank the Executive Committee for their support over the last year as we worked through the difficulties and opportunities the pandemic presented for HBCUs. A special thanks to Dean Anthony Nelson, who has been an active past-President and was a key collaborator for this conference.
Enjoy the conference.
Van B. Sapp
President, HBCU Business Deans Roundtable
Dean, School of Business, Saint Augustine's University