Our region’s industry-university connections just got a boost from an exciting new addition to the leadership team at the UNCW Cameron School of Business.
 
As you may have heard, after a national search Richard J. Walsh was named director of the H. David and Diane Swain Center for Executive Education and Economic Development, effective April 15 of this year.
 
Richard comes to UNCW from the University of Dayton, where he served as executive and founding director, leadership solutions partner, and senior faculty at the top-ranked Center for Creative Leadership & Executive Development. While there, he worked closely with global leaders and teams to help achieve their business goals by providing cutting-edge, leadership solutions along with executive coaching. Richard has published numerous articles and papers on leading a business or function within a business, and he has helped UNCW by leading the Healthcare Provider Leadership Program, a strategic partnership between the Swain Center, The Leaders’ Counsel, South East Area Health Education Center (SEAHEC), UNC School of Medicine and New Hanover Regional Medical Center (NHRMC).
 
For over 30 years, the Swain Center has served the business community by connecting our experts with business needs. Our programs reflect the strength of our faculty members in five areas: accounting, finance and economics, marketing, managing and leading, and operations and logistics. The center has a long history of providing economic forecasts and impact studies, and we even have a regional economist on our staff. The Economic Outlook Conference, held annually in the fall, is one of our signature events.
 
Richard possesses a unique drive and dynamic for all things related to executive education, business services, partnerships, leadership and coaching.  He will build upon his knowledge of the Swain Center and staff as well as bring his unique combination of work experiences in the private sector, consulting services, and academia.  One of his top priorities is to get out into the business community to speak with business leaders about their needs and to create great value for the region because he recognizes that their success is our success.
 
Richard brings more than 20 years of experience providing advanced expertise in leadership solutions, organizational transformation and executive coaching. Over his industry career, he served as director of strategy, human resources, leadership and organizational effectiveness at AT&T, GE and IBM. Among his responsibilities were the identification, development, on-boarding and coaching of leaders to help achieve strong business results during periods of significant change.
 
We look forward to Richard’s strong leadership of the Swain Center and strategic support of the Cameron School of Business.
 
Learn more about Richard J. Walsh and his focus over the next few months in this short interview conducted by Hal Wells, Swain Center Advisory Board Chair and CEO of Wells Insurance.



Robert T. Burrus, Jr., Ph.D., is the dean of the Cameron School of Business at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, named in June 2015. Burrus joined the UNCW faculty in 1998. Prior to his current position, Burrus was interim dean, associate dean of undergraduate studies and the chair of the department of economics and finance. Burrus earned a Ph.D. and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Virginia and a bachelor’s degree in mathematical economics from Wake Forest University. The Cameron School of Business has approximately 60 full-time faculty members and 20 administrative and staff members. The AACSB-accredited business school currently enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduate students in three degree programs and 200 graduate students in four degree programs. The school also houses the prestigious Cameron Executive Network, a group of more than 200 retired and practicing executives that provide one-on-one mentoring for Cameron students. To learn more about the Cameron School of Business, please visit http://csb.uncw.edu/. Questions and comments can be sent to [email protected].