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3333 Riverwood
Parkway FACSIMILE
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At the heart of Moorhead, the 120-acre Concordia campus includes beautifully landscaped, park-like grounds with more than 40 buildings, featuring the new $32 million Knutson Campus Center. Concordia is on the Minnesota side of the twin cities of Moorhead, MN, and Fargo, ND. With a metropolitan-area population of nearly 175,000, Fargo-Moorhead is one of the fastest-growing areas in the country and home to three colleges/universities with more than 20,000 college students, including 2,800 at Concordia. Separated by the Red River, the two cities offer the convenience of small-town living with art, theater, culture and music opportunities found most often only in large cities. Money magazine named Fargo-Moorhead one of its top 10 cities in which to start a business or get a job. The Los Angeles Times described Fargo-Moorhead, the largest metropolitan area between Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN and Spokane, WA, as improbably stylish, worldly, and even luxurious. Among the top ten employers in the Fargo-Moorhead business community are MeritCare Health System, Noridian Mutual Insurance, American Crystal Sugar, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota, and Microsoft. The Carnegie classification system identifies Concordia as a selective college with a focus on arts, sciences and the professions. The 2007 freshman class is the largest in the college’s history with 838 students. Students come from 39 states and 37 countries and represent 52 religious denominations. Sixty-three percent of the students live in campus residence facilities. Thirty-three percent are in the top 10 percent of their class and 18 percent scored 29 or above on the ACT. Seven are National Merit Scholars. Recent graduates have received Fulbright, Truman and Goldwater scholarships; a Hughes Medical Institute Predoctoral Fellowship; and a Pew Younger Scholars Fellowship at Harvard University. The Concordia academic program is organized around six divisions in addition to the newly created School of Business. The curriculum includes 78 majors with 18 honors majors in 24 academic departments; and 12 pre-professional programs including dentistry, engineering, law, medicine, seminary, and veterinary medicine. Concordia grants Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music degrees, as well as a Master of Education in world language instruction. The college’s largest majors are business, biology, communications, and music. Concordia students participate in more than 90 academic, art, athletic, cultural, outdoor, religious, social and service clubs; and the college fields 20 NCAA Division III athletic teams in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Twenty percent of the student body participates in an athletic program and one-third performs in one or more music ensembles. Concordia College is fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission: A Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Among the college’s distinctions are: ranking ninth nationally among all baccalaureate institutions in the number of students studying abroad; one of five institutions honored with the 2006 Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization; top 20 percent nationally in the number of students who go on to earn their doctorates; and selection by the John Templeton Foundation as one of America’s leading character-building colleges.
A strong vision for a School of Business has been cast by President Jolicoeur, the Vice President for Academic Affairs Mark Krejci, and faculty leadership within the current Department of Business, Accounting, and Economics. It will become a destination program of prominence, joining music, the sciences, and international programs. This is an extraordinary opportunity for the founding dean to lead the transformation of a business department into a prominent School of Business. The dean will inherit a program imbued with a strong liberal arts and international focus, providing students with a distinctive business education that instills a commitment to sustained professional excellence and service to the community, guided by ethical principles and a global perspective. The current Department of Business, Accounting and Economics is home to Concordia’s largest program at the college, serving about 460 declared majors and approximately 850 students each semester. The department offers the Bachelor of Arts degree with majors in accounting, business, economics, healthcare management, international business, management, and marketing. In addition the department hosts the Center for Ethical Leadership offering seminars, luncheons, conferences, and workshops focusing on ethics-centered and values-based leadership for individuals and organizations. Graduates serve in numerous leadership and non-profit positions, including as presidents of nursing homes and CEO’s of hospitals; and accounting graduates are represented in the “Big Four” accounting firms as well as numerous regional firms. Among the graduates of Concordia are the CEO’s of Kaiser-Permanente and The Good Samaritan Society; Chairman and CEO of RDO Equipment Company; the former CFO of GE Capital, and a former CEO of Burlington Northern Railway. Currently there are 13 full-time faculty in the business program with a commitment from the administration to add additional positions to increase depth and expertise and to decrease the dependency on adjunct faculty. Faculty members are well qualified based on their academic credentials along with their commitment to student-centered teaching and a wealth of private sector business experience. Classroom teaching is enhanced by the dedicated support of the thriving Fargo-Moorhead business community through guest lectures, practicum placements, and internships. Students with a major in international business complete their study with business internships in Mexico or overseas.
A commitment to high quality teaching, appropriate scholarship, mentoring, career advising, and effective communication with campus and community leaders is imperative. The dean will promote faculty collegiality and teamwork, set high standards for students and faculty, engage the business community in the life of the college, and work effectively with peer administrators at the college. The successful candidate should possess these qualities and personal/professional traits:
Please direct inquiries, nominations and expressions of interest to jma@jonmcrae.com.
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Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, is a private, coeducational, four-year liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Founded in 1891 by early Norwegian Lutheran immigrants, the college is committed to “influencing the affairs of the world by sending into society thoughtful and informed men and women dedicated to the Christian life.”
In September 2007, the Concordia College Board of Regents enthusiastically adopted a proposal to create the Concordia College School of Business.
Prerequisites include an earned doctorate in a business discipline and experience as a senior administrator - executive in an educational or corporate environment. The ideal candidate will be an innovative leader who is committed to the development of an exemplary School of Business built upon a foundation of ethical practices and exceptional competence. The successful candidate will be capable of transforming a good department of business into a School of Business that is truly exceptional. This leader will display a deep understanding and appreciation for the benefits of earning a business degree from a private liberal arts college.