School of Business and Industry Interim Dean Patrick R. Liverpool began his position Monday filling the vacancy left when previous Interim Dean Amos Bradford resigned in November 2005.
Liverpool held an administration team meeting Wednesday.
“The reaction from the team meeting was very, very positive,” SBI Director of Student Services Norman Johnson said.
Johnson also said Liverpool is heavily involved in the accreditation process.
“One thing he is clearly interested in doing is moving the accreditation process forward,” he said.
The school has never been accredited, said the Executive Assistant for the Dean Sylvia Petties.
For a number of years SBI has been in the process of attaining accreditation from the American Association for Accreditation of Schools of Business, which Liverpool served on the board of for a number of years prior to coming to FAMU.
Although he retired last year, Liverpool was thrilled at the opportunity to take on the vacant position.
Liverpool said his decision to come out of retirement was fueled by his desire to donate not only his leadership experience to SBI, but also his strong knowledge of the accreditation standards of the AAASB standards and expectations.
And Liverpool is no stranger to the school of business.
“I knew of the quality programs of SBI, and the tremendous work (previous permanent dean) Dr. Mobley has done in creating unique programs,” Liverpool said. “SBI has already made a tremendous amount of progress, and we may be able to achieve accreditation in the 2008-2009 school year.”
He said FAMU has a number of advantages that could lead to a possible success in achieving accreditation.
The combination of a good caliber of faculty and staff, excellent students and programs, and great facilities are all positive characteristics that could aid SBI in a speedy track to accreditation, Liverpool added.
Although Liverpool’s term at FAMU will end in June, he plans on doing all that he can to address the issues and concerns that faculty, students and alumni have about the current state of SBI.
Liverpool has already begun to tackle these issues.
He said he will be spending the next few weeks listening to the faculty, students, and alumni to gain insight into what they feel needs to be addressed.
After this input has been received, he said it will be analyzed and presented in an open forum in an effort to resolve these problems.
With more than 30 years in business education, Liverpool’s experience includes serving as dean of the school of business at Virginia State University, Virginia Union University, and most recently, at Delaware State University.
Overall, Liverpool said he is excited about the path he has ahead of him.
Liverpool said, “I’m excited. I see a tremendous amount of potential and enthusiasm in the faculty and staff, and I’m excited to work with them.”
Although the dean position has been temporarily filled, some students are still waiting for stability at the position of dean.
Adrian Jordan, 21, a fourth year business administration student from Washington, said it is “good to have somebody back in charge, but I wish it was a permanent position.”
Contact Mia Small and Gheni Platenburg at famuannews@hotmail.com