From the Dean: A Time of Growth
News outlets across the country are lamenting the decline in college enrollment – brought on by the pandemic and worsened by related financial concerns. However, at NC State University at large, and the Poole College of Management, in particular, we are continuing to buck the trend. What about us is drawing record-setting numbers of students into Poole?
If you ask me, it’s our people. I continue to be encouraged by the caliber of individuals on both sides of the classroom. I truly believe there are no better educators out there than our Poole College faculty. They are brilliant, talented and 100% committed to living out the Think and Do spirit. We are seeing year-over-year growth in our Poole Thought Leadership platform – showing our faculty’s willingness to lend their insight into a variety of issues and their ability to share those thoughts in a way that is easily accessible to everyday people. Our faculty continue to be called upon by media outlets and cited in business publications, and individuals are visiting our website to learn from our experts on issues like business analytics, sustainability, leadership and more.
I truly believe there are no better educators out there than our Poole College faculty. They are brilliant, talented and 100% committed to living out the Think and Do spirit.
All this contributes to building our college’s “brand” and elevating awareness of who we are and what we’re about within the broader community.
And then there are our students. This fall, Poole College led the university in the growth in the number of applications received. We had our largest applicant pool to date – well over 5,000 – and welcomed the largest freshman class in our school’s history. The only college at the university to receive more applications than Poole was the College of Engineering. More importantly, we are receiving extraordinarily gifted, incredibly qualified applicants who will not only make an impact on the college – but across the university and our community, as well.
To meet the demand, we remain committed to refining our program offerings to ensure our students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels receive the highest quality of education. We will also continue creating immersive experiences and high-impact practices that allow our students to engage with industry partners and leave Poole ready to hit the ground running the day they set foot in the office.
With continued growth in the Triangle, and more and more businesses choosing this area to set up shop, Poole College has a unique responsibility to graduate a qualified workforce ready to meet the demand. To that end, we launched two new graduate programs in the last year – the Master of Management, Marketing Analytics and the Master of Management, Risk and Analytics – and we continue to explore other new programs as well. Additionally, we recently hosted the inaugural Jenkins Master of Accounting (MAC) Lifelong Learning Summit where over 30 attendees had the opportunity to learn from industry leaders about key issues facing the business world while also earning continuing education credit.
Our rankings continue to climb as well. Our Undergraduate, MBA and MAC programs continue to be recognized in the space of entrepreneurship and analytics as some of the best in the country.
However, with all this growth comes several challenges. That’s why we must be strategic in our growth, working hard to ensure we don’t lose the quality of education Poole is known for. We continue to be grateful for the state of North Carolina, as well as the support of our university’s leadership, as they provide ongoing funding enabling us to offer quality, accessible education for students – past, present and future. However, as in every industry, costs are rising and our ability to attract and retain quality faculty and staff is an ongoing challenge. We understand the importance of making higher education accessible to everyone who seeks it – and we also know it comes at a cost.
Your financial support bridges the gap between what the state provides us and the funding we need to support this continued growth.
For these reasons, your support is more critical than ever. We need our Poole College alumni and friends to buy into what we’re trying to achieve here at Poole and come behind and beside us as partners. Your financial support bridges the gap between what the state provides us and the funding we need to support this continued growth. We need new facilities. We need qualified faculty and staff. We need scholarships that allow us to recruit a diverse group of talented students who want to be part of the Pack, but who are limited due to financial constraints. Every donor and every dollar makes an immense impact – allowing us to carry forward what we’ve started.
I truly believe that years from now, any list of the top business schools in the country will have Poole College of Management at the top of the charts. Together, we can make that happen.
Always looking forward,
Frank Buckless
Stephen P. Zelnak Jr. Dean
Poole College of Management
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