Dean Waller's Vision of Walton College
November 12, 2018 | By Mathew Waller
Thinking about joining the Walton College as a student or faculty member? Before you do, make sure you buy into our vision. Here’s why.
The vision of the Walton College is “through our research, teaching, and service to be thought leaders and catalysts for transforming lives.” The two critical parts of our vision are thought leadership and transforming lives.
Thought Leadership
We want to be leaders in research, teaching, and service. That means that when it comes to research, we value quality over quantity. A leader sets the direction. If you’re a senior research faculty, being a thought leader in research means being a mentor/co-author to doctoral students or an editor in a journal. You are leading everyone involved. Here is a short video of research thought leader Varun Grover, David D. Glass Endowed Chair and distinguished professor in the Department of Information Systems.
Regarding teaching, thought leadership can be exemplified by Molly Rapert, associate professor in the Walton College marketing department. Her upper-level marketing course has an advisory board that brings projects to the class. These projects help students apply the concepts of the class with a real-world project and help improve the instruction. For service, thought leadership means things such as serving as chair at an academic conference. This allows the faculty member to become a thought leader for the academic community as a whole. Thought leadership in service can also be accomplished through management consulting, among a number of areas.
Transforming Lives
We believe we can positively change the lives of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and others. This can occur through teaching, research, and service. For example, our research can transform lives based on the results it produces. Our faculty can take students with a master’s degree and turn them into great researchers. Here is a video about a student’s life that was transformed. On the other end of the spectrum, we can transform a life by taking first-generation undergraduate students and introducing them to our EPIC values. Study abroad can serve as such a catalyst. Watch this short video of Amy Farmer, University Professor in the Walton College economics department and Margaret Gerig & R.S. Martin, Jr. Chair in Business.
Post Author:
Matthew A. Waller is dean emeritus of the Sam M. Walton College of Business and professor of supply chain management. His work as a professor, researcher, and consultant is synergistic, blending academic research with practical insights from industry experience. This continuous cycle of learning and application makes his work more effective, relevant, and impactful.
His goals include contributing to academia through high-quality research and publications, cultivating the next generation of professionals through excellent teaching, and creating value for the organizations he consults by optimizing their strategy and investments.