49: John Clarke (DePauw) on Being a Founding Dean

On this episode of Deans Counsel, moderators Ken Kring and Dave Ikenberry speak with John Clarke, the inaugural dean of the School of Business and Leadership and a professor of business at DePauw University. While DePauw is one of the older universities in the US, its School of Business was just founded in 2023. John previously served as associate dean for academic operations at Tulane’s Freeman School, where he was integral in developing educational programs and corporate partnerships. Prior to Tulane, Clarke was the assistant dean for strategic initiatives at the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.Halfway through is second year on the job, John was eager and ready to share with us his excitement, as well as some of the successes and challenges he's faced while getting this young entity off the ground and moving into the future. He talks to Ken and Dave about•how he's been energized by this unique and uncommon opportunity•his aim to have positive impact on the student body beyond the business school•why it's interesting to advance business in a liberal arts institution•motivating faculty to engage in a startup effort•what's wrong with "listening tours"•the critical importance of meeting people where they are and leading from thereLearn more about John Clarke.Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note at [email protected] for listening.-Produced by Joel Davis at Analog Digital Arts--DEANS COUNSEL: A podcast for deans and academic leadership.James Ellis | Moderator | Dean of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (2007-2019)David Ikenberry | Moderator | Dean of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado-Boulder (2011-2016)Ken Kring | Moderator | Co-Managing Director, Global Education Practice and Senior Client Partner at Korn FerryDeansCounsel.com