Accelerating our Impact on Arkansas, the United States, and the World

The vision of the Sam M. Walton College of Business is to be a thought leader and a catalyst for transforming lives in Arkansas, the United States and the world.

To accelerate our impact, we will launch a new stakeholder-focused plan in Fall 2022.

This plan is informed by our stakeholders. Its formulation has included faculty and staff, students, alumni, and business partners. The impact of a business school primarily occurs through and by its stakeholders. We will focus on growing the capabilities needed to serve, empower, and leverage our stakeholders.

Strategic Stakeholder Priorities

Elevate the Student Experience

Expand practice-based and innovation experiences.

Recruit and retain a diverse student body that is representative of Arkansas.

Eliminate non-value-added activities to free up faculty and staff to focus on the student experience.

Reinvent our physical environment to support the future of learning and work.

Grow and build signature programs.

Equip students to pursue their own whole health journey.

Empower Faculty and Staff

Increase faculty to support growth.

Grow inclusion and belonging among and between faculty and staff.

Increase staff engagement and development opportunities.

Develop a research support team to support faculty.

Encourage whole health by supporting active transportation, access to healthy foods, and exercise of all types.

Re-engineer processes such that Walton College faculty and staff can increasingly focus on the College’s mission.

Grow Relationships with Business and Alumni

Develop a data-driven approach to connecting with business and alumni.

Expand the thought leadership platform to include more business leaders.

Leverage our unique access to business leaders and entrepreneurs as a complement to our full-time faculty.

Reimagine career services as a hub of student development and employer engagement.

Increase Impact on Society

Equip students and business leaders with the needed awareness and frameworks to make ethical business solutions.

Share our research to a broader set of stakeholders, including businesses, consumers, and policy makers.

Teach students how economic systems, environmental issues, social factors, and governance connect with business.

Support the University’s vision to grow research commercialization.

Epic Values: Excellence. Professionalism. Innovation. Collegiality.

Cross-stakeholder Themes

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

Recruit and retain a diverse student body that is representative of Arkansas.
Grow inclusion and belonging among and between faculty and staff.
Teach students how economic systems, environmental issues, social factors, and governance connect with business.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Expand practice-based and innovation experiences.
Support the University’s vision to grow research commercialization.
Leverage our unique access to business leaders and entrepreneurs as a complement to our full-time faculty.

Research

Increase faculty to support growth.
Develop a research support team to support faculty.
Share our research to a broader set of stakeholders, including businesses, consumers, and policy makers.

Whole health and wellbeing

Equip students to pursue their own whole health journey.
Encourage whole health by supporting active transportation, access to healthy foods, and exercise of all types.

Accelerating our
Impact on Arkansas,
the United States, and the World

Our stakeholder focused, operational plan is the critical first step in accelerating our impact as it guides our short-term investments and creates a set of longer-term options. As we implement, we must simultaneously turn our attention to the longer term. Considering the dynamism of our region, economy, and society, we will sharpen our view of the future mission as one of the world’s leading business schools and further accelerate our impact on Arkansas, the United States, and the world.

Fall 2021