In Every Issue

Letter from the Dean

GREETINGS,

As we entered a new decade this year, we could not have anticipated the challenges that 2020 would pose because of the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on higher education and the Bauer College. Still, I look to the future with the words of Charles T. “Ted” Bauer in mind:

“Allow yourself to dream. Give your dreams a chance to come true. And when you are firm in your convictions, don’t let others tell you it can’t be done.”

Mr. Bauer, our college's major benefactor, generously gave a historic $40 million gift 20 years ago to support our beloved college, and in recognition of the anniversary of this gift, we are planning a week-long virtual celebration at the end of July, as well as the release of a special video in August. Mr. Bauer's quote reinforces the idea that in order to meet the challenges and find the opportunities that inevitably come with advances in technology, we must be willing to transform. And COVID-19 may force us to adapt and transform, using technology, even more quickly, to succeed and thrive.

We must recognize the rapidly changing nature of business education while also embracing emerging technologies, welcoming leading-edge approaches, while leveraging and revamping our existing strengths. We must be innovative, entrepreneurial, resourceful, and most importantly, we must be bold. This has been especially true as our faculty and staff boldly adapted to changes earlier this year due to COVID-19, bringing every Bauer College course online for the spring and summer semesters and ensuring that our students could safely continue pursuing their education.

In fact, “Boldness” is the first Value recognized in the 2020-2025 Bauer College Strategic Plan that we unveiled recently. Besides Boldness, Accountability, Unity, Excellence, and Resourcefulness are the other values, denoting BAUER. The Strategic Plan is the result of an extremely collaborative and collective effort that included all stakeholders and provides a roadmap designed to drive excellence at the Bauer College. And all these values are particularly important in this environment that we must be bold, accountable, unified, unified, excellent, and particularly resourceful, to succeed, together.

You can read more about the Strategic Plan here in Inside Bauer. We have already seen extremely positive response to the Strategic Plan in the Houston business community! The Bauer College has been featured in both the Houston Business Journal and the Houston Chronicle as well as Houston NBC affiliate KPRC2 with coverage of our initiatives, positioning the Bauer College as a leader in innovation, research impact, and student success.

Developing the Strategic Plan was only the first, relatively easy, step in what will no doubt be challenging but extremely rewarding implementation work, during this uncertain environment, as we seek to elevate the Bauer College of Business to the next level of success in the post pandemic world. And, as we move forward with implementation, together, we must keep Mr. Bauer’s words in mind — Be Bold. Be Bauer.

Sincerely,

Paul A. Pavlou, Ph.D.
Dean & Cullen Distinguished Chair Professor
C. T. Bauer College of Business
University of Houston