Dear Alumni,
A very Happy New Year to you all, and welcome to the first Newsletter of 2022.
2021 was a momentous year for our Business School, and as the new Interim Dean I am very eagerly anticipating what 2022 has in store as we continue to embed our new name and the values that underpin it.
I would like to start by thanking my predecessor Professor Paolo Volpin for his tremendous work as Dean across the last two and a half years. Professor Volpin was instrumental in our process to find a new name, taking bold decisions and championing a culture of equality, diversity and inclusion. He departs the role to take up a position in the US but will maintain teaching and research responsibilities here at Bayes in a visiting capacity.
For those of you I have not yet met, I have been Professor of Organisational Behaviour here at Bayes for more than ten years. Most recently, I was Head of the Faculty of Management and a part of the Bayes Senior Leadership Team. In this capacity, I have been deeply involved in all recent developments at the School, enabling a smooth leadership transition into the role.
The search for the permanent Dean of Bayes is underway, with a high degree of interest in the role. Candidates will be shortlisted at the end of January with final interviews taking place in March. We hope to have a permanent Dean in place in the second half of the year.
In recent news, November saw the launch of the Bayes Business School Black Student Scholarship Programme for undergraduates. The programme is aimed at tackling underrepresentation at Bayes and in Higher Education and business more generally. It is a fully-funded ten-year programme which will award scholarships each year to ten UK students of black ethnicity from lower-than-average income households. The application deadline is early February, so please help spread the word.
Thanks to those of you who contributed your thoughts to The Big City Conversation throughout December. Your views are invaluable in shaping the University’s development, and the forum will return in February when you will be able to share feedback on the subsequent draft Vision and Strategy.
Finally, I am very much looking forward to seeing many of you at our upcoming Graduation ceremonies throughout January. This includes ‘catch-up’ ceremonies that should have taken place 12 months ago, and we are excited to welcome our newer alumni back to London.
All being well, we are looking forward to the return of in-person events in 2022. Stay tuned for details of some exciting flagships we have planned in the year ahead.
I would like to wish you and your loved ones a very happy and healthy 2022 wherever you are in the world.
Best wishes,
Professor André Spicer
Interim Dean