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.
Cross-stakeholder Themes
Belonging
- Recruit and retain a 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.
SWOT analyses Town hall AACSB CIR
Faculty and staff interviews External stakeholder input Task force plan development
Refine and finalize plan
Plan implementation Visioning, tagline and branding
Branding implementation Visioning, tagline and branding