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Message from the Dean

Bob Wood

We are transitioning from a brutally cold (for us) January into the Mardi Gras season.  Laissez les bons temps rouler.  This year is a little bit different; the Mitchell College is in our AACSB Continuous Improvement Review year, something that happens every five years. 

AACSB is the premier business college accrediting organization in the world.  Less than 800 schools worldwide hold the accreditation; the Mitchell College has been accredited since 1976.  As part of the review process, we look at the College’s efforts over the last five years.  The accreditation standards focus on engagement, innovation, and impact.  I would like to share some of the numbers with you.

  • The nine MCOB College, center, department, and program advisory councils have 206 members from 161 different companies.
  • At the Center for Real Estate and Economic Development’s 2017 Gulf Coast Real Estate & Economic Education Conference, 321 real estate, accounting, and legal professionals earned 1,026 hours of continuing education credit.
  • Over 250 mock interviews were conducted by 25 firms over the past two years.  The interviews were one of over 60 initiatives sponsored by the Professional Readiness and Engagement Program.
  • Almost 200 firms have posted internship and employment opportunities on Experience Station over the last two years.
  • Since October 2015, the Jaguar Investment Fund’s portfolio of large and mid-cap stocks has outperformed the S&P 500 Index by over 1,000 basis points.
  • MCOB faculty members have published 192 articles in 140 journals during the review period.  Faculty have also made over 200 scholarly presentations during the same period.
  • Nine MCOB faculty serve as Editors, Associate Editors or Editorial Board Members of 20 distinct journals in their disciplines.
  • Since 2013, 224 accounting students participating in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program of the Internal Revenue Service have completed almost 2,000 tax returns, netting qualifying families over $3,250,000 in refunds and $600,000 in preparation fees.

These are just a few of our efforts as we continue to realize our vision.  Visit our website to see more of the happenings in the College.