Worcester Business Journal

6 Worcester Business Journal | June 10, 2024 | wbjournal.com PHOTO | COURTESY OF CLARK UNIVERSITY e school of business BY ERIC CASEY WBJ Staff Writer I n 1887, Jonas Gilman Clark founded Clark University. Described by a New York Times article from that year as one of Central Massachusetts' wealth- iest capitalists, the school the Hub- bardston-born entrepreneur, business owner, and real estate investor founded was originally a graduate-only school focused on the study of subjects related to science and math. Despite Clark's business background, it would be nearly a century aer the university's founding before the school launched its School of Management in 1982 with a daylong symposium entitled "e United States in Today's Competi- tive World." On June 1, Clark University marked the beginning of the next chapter of the school by officially renaming the School of Management as the School of Busi- ness, representing an attempt to make the school stand out in today's compet- itive world of collegiate admissions by doubling down on its focus of attempt- ing to provide the next generation of business leaders with the tools to make the world a better place. Jordan's last dance While Clark has been having a larger conversation about the next chapter of its business-focused school for about a year and a half, the August appointment of David Jordan as interim dean of the then-School of Management accelerated these discussions, said Sebastian Royo, Clark University provost and vice presi- dent for academic affairs. "He came up with a clear sense of the market and the opportunities. Both locally, but also nationally and interna- tionally," said Royo of Jordan, who had the interim part of his title dropped in February when he was named to a three- year term as dean. Jordan was already familiar with the Clark campus. A 2022 graduate from the university with a master's degree in public administration, he already had two decades of experience as an adjunct professor. Jordan spent 28 years at the helm of Worcester-based nonprofit Seven Hills Foundation & Affiliates, growing the small nonprofit into the largest charita- ble organizations in Central Massachu- setts, with a focus on providing care and support for people with disabilities. Following a very brief retirement that lasted merely days, Jordan was quickly recruited to lead Clark's business pro- gram into its next chapter. "You have someone that has all the business acumen, the business network, the career in the market, at the same time, the passion for the case," Royo said. "So it was a perfect opportunity for us when we found out that he was stepping down [from Seven Hills] to offer him this opportunity and he really embraced it." What's in a name? Clark's discussions over the future of the now-School of Business predated Jordan's arrival as dean, but a changing the name of the school itself was an idea he brought to the table. "In fact, that was one of my and initial sets of recommendations to President [David] Fithian and Provost Royo," Jordan said. "Like any institution, every once in a while, you have to reposition, David Jordan is leading Clark's efforts to relaunch its business school with the tagline, "Business driven and socially focused," hoping to encourage the next generation of business leaders to consider more than just profits. Four decades aer its founding, Clark is rebranding its School of Management, in hopes of attracting students to its mission of mixing business education with societal good Sebastian Royo, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Clark University

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