Dear alumni and friends,
Emory University President Jim Wagner recently visited Goizueta to share the new vision for the University. The Emory vision is a result of a collaborative process across constituencies—faculty, staff, students, and alumni—and is meant to propel the strategic course for the University in the coming years. A key component of the plan requires that Emory be an “international” university.
President Wagner said, “Emory strives to be a destination of choice for scholars and students from throughout the world. Our objective is to attain recognition as a truly global university, with strongly collaborative programs across schools and disciplines.”
Our achievements in raising Goizueta Business School’s focus worldwide, increasing international student enrollment, and being at the forefront of international collaborations dovetails with the direction Emory seeks to take. Therefore, when President Wagner invited me to lead Emory in mounting coordinated efforts in internationalization, I accepted the challenge.
I will step down as dean in January 2005 and, after a brief sabbatical, will assume new responsibilities as chair of a special strategic planning subcommittee focusing on international initiatives at Emory. My challenge will be to create a strategy for “Emory International,” in concert with the vice provost for international affairs and, in my new role as a special project director for the president, to coordinate implementation of this strategy across our schools, centers, institutes, and programs.
This is an exciting opportunity that will allow me to use my international experience and knowledge of Emory, and collaborate with other University officials already working in the international arena to make this vision a reality. A search for the next dean of Goizueta is already under way.
I assure you that Goizueta’s upward momentum will not only continue but will be enhanced by my new responsibilities and the commitment on the part of the University to expand the Emory presence in the global community.
As always, I thank you for your continued support of Goizueta Business School.
Sincerely,
Thomas S. Robertson
Emory’s mission statement
Emory: a destination university internationally recognized as an inquiry-driven, ethically engaged and diverse community, whose members work collaboratively for positive transformation in the world through courageous leadership in teaching, research, scholarship, health care and social action.