Dear Whitman Alumni and Friends,
As I take on the role of Interim Dean of the Whitman School, I do so with tremendous thanks to Gene Anderson and the work he has done at Whitman over the past five years. He improved the School in many ways and provided strong leadership through highly turbulent times. The Whitman Community has much to be proud of and grateful for because of Gene’s efforts.
Looking ahead, a recurring question I am asked is what my mandate will be as Interim Dean. The answer is quite simple: full steam ahead. In other words, we will continue to innovate, build, grow and invest. We have made much progress as a community over the past few years and our job will be to maintain that forward momentum throughout this coming year. That means continuing to create and deliver transformational learning experiences for our students, develop multidisciplinary partnerships with other schools on campus, cultivate a talented and diverse student body and emphasize high-quality scholarly outcomes among our faculty.
We have a full slate of work ahead of us to maintain progress and complete many of the initiatives that we started. More discussions are to come as we put together specific priorities for this coming year. It is my honor to work with our extraordinary faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends in this new role as I continue to support our strategic plan and collective goals.
I look forward to seeing and hearing from many of you over the coming months. The engagement of alumni and friends is critical to our sustained success. Thank you for your continued commitment to Whitman.
All the best,
Alex
Prior to his role as associate dean, he was the Chair of the Department of Entrepreneurship & Emerging Enterprises (EEE). Since his arrival at Syracuse in 2007, McKelvie has taught a broad array of courses dealing with different aspects of entrepreneurship, including strategic planning, growth, new venture development, family business, and corporate entrepreneurship. He has also taken a leading role in developing and teaching world-class programs, including designing new courses and training programs for Syracuse University’s Institute for Veteran and Military Families.
McKelvie has received teaching awards from Syracuse University, the Whitman School of Management, the EEE department, and his former university in Sweden. In 2020, he was named a Justin Longenecker Fellow from USASBE, the highest honor they provide for contributions to support SMEs. He has worked with many entrepreneurial startups across the US, Sweden, and other places around the world.
His research deals with questions regarding two main areas: how and why do firms grow and how do entrepreneurs make decisions with an emphasis on factors such as opportunities, dealing with uncertainty, effectuation, failure, and addiction. McKelvie’s research has received a number of major international awards, including the best doctoral dissertation in entrepreneurship from the National Federation of Independent Businesses and multiple awards at leading entrepreneurship conferences. McKelvie has published his work in the most influential entrepreneurship journals and he is on the editorial review boards of multiple journals such as Journal of Business Venturing, Journal of Management, Journal of Management Studies, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, and Family Business Review. His work has also been profiled in Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Inc. Magazine, among other outlets. He is a Fortune Insider and on the CNBC Disruptor Advisory Council.
- Message from the Dean: Starting the Academic Year with a Full House at Whitman - September 10, 2022
- Alumni Message From Interim Dean McKelvie - July 7, 2022
- Whitman School Launches New Professional Certification Program - February 8, 2022
Congratulations, wish our best for your new job. Our prayers for your new assignment. Saludos from San Juan, Puerto Rico