September 20, 2006

 

Springfield , OH- On August 18 th , 2006 Dr. Wendy Gradwohl assumed her duties as the new chair for Wittenberg 's largest major, management. She follows the two-year term of John Fenimore.

Gradwohl, a 1997 graduate of University of Akron with a PhD in Industrial/ Organizational Psychology, taught at Auburn University within the department of Psychology for four years, and joined Wittenberg 's management faculty in fall 2001.

Gradwohl, who will continue to teach organizational behavior, human resource management, and applied management, has high expectations for the department this year.

The department is in the midst of developing a new curriculum, including a new management core, new required courses, and several multi-disciplinary majors. The proposed new management curriculum, developed by the department while Fenimore was chair, is being shared with the Wittenberg community to determine the support for the proposed changes.

The 2003 Strategic Planning Task Force on enhancing the Management Curriculum also proposed multi-disciplinary majors. A draft plan for an East Asian Management major will be the first of such majors. A Public Administration major is also in the works combining Political Science, Sociology and Management departments. Data Management (with Math and Computer Science) and Marketing Communications (with English, Art, and Communication) majors are also being discussed. Gradwohl is currently contacting other chairs to see if their departments are interested in creating new majors which would include the new management core of 20 credit units.

One of Gradwohl's major goals is to not only to integrate with other departments, but to build on the Executive-in-Residence program by creating an innovative speaker series. These speakers would attract both management majors and minors, as well as those majoring in other departments.

Wittenberg Human Resource Management Association (WHRMA) will be the first of the management student groups to sponsor a speakers series. The four-event series is designed to help students prepare for the job market. Gradwohl believes it is very important for students, especially seniors, to begin thinking about and preparing for the job market this semester rather than waiting until Spring. Starting the search process now increases students' chances of getting the job they want vs. one that is available. Several sessions will include guest co-presenters who are knowledgeable about the subject as well as a management faculty member. The series launches in October.

By Tara Hervas '07