John F. Kennedy once said that “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” Change is inevitable. It presents itself in all areas of life, both personal or professional. Change is also inevitable in business – all businesses must accept this as truth. The old adage of “business as usual” is just that – old! Successful businesses face the challenge of change, accept it and respond to it.

For some, the mere mention of the word “change” can be paralyzing . . . . .causing a flood of emotions and feelings of uncertainty. For others, change is fun and exciting – an opportunity to start anew with a clean slate.

The Cameron School of Business saw its fair share of changes in June 2014. The dean who led the school for 14 years was lost to a chancellor’s position, an associate dean climbed the rungs to become dean at another university, and department chairs went back to the faculty. There was a domino effect of people moving into leadership positions. I am proud to say that Cameron’s faculty, staff, students, mentors and advisory board members have veered off of that all too familiar “Road of Resistance” and jumped onto the “Highway of Resilience.” Cameron is welcoming the leadership changes, accepting and embracing the new leadership styles, and responding to the newness with optimism and excitement.

The truth is what has changed are the folks who now occupy different offices; what has not changed is the DNA of the Cameron School of Business. Our new administrative team worked under the leadership of Larry Clark and Becky Porterfield and continues to embrace the same core values and mission for the school: through excellence in teaching, scholarship, service and executive involvement, Cameron provides students with the skills, knowledge and practice to think critically and act responsibly in meeting global challenges.

Our exceptional faculty and staff remain committed to providing each and every student the best educational experience possible, preparing them for an exciting career. Our dedicated mentors and volunteers still share the same passion for our students and support our program goals: to improve academic and career advising; to improve placement of graduates in their field/discipline; to expand strategic relationships with targeted organizations/business sectors; to improve scholarship; and to increase faculty participation abroad through collaborative international research, publications in international journals, teaching abroad and grants. Cameron’s advisory board members stand ready to help steer the School in meeting all challenges.

So perhaps the adage: “Business as usual” is not so old after all. The leadership may have changed, but the commitment to the journey of learning at the Cameron School of Business remains the same. 

For 2014-2015, Dr. Robert T. Burrus, Jr. will serve as interim Dean of the Cameron School of Business at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Before taking on the role of interim Dean, Burrus was the department chair for economics and finance and a professor of economics. He has been on Cameron’s faculty since 1998. The Cameron School of Business has 90 full-time faculty members and 29 administrative and staff members. The school hosts approximately 2,000 undergraduate students and 170 graduate students. International students come to study at Cameron from all over the world. The Cameron School of Business is AACSB accredited; offers capstone experiences; houses a Financial Trading Markets Room; provides for overseas learning opportunities; and is a founding member of the Trans-Atlantic Business School Alliance. To learn more about the Cameron School of Business, please visit http://csb.uncw.edu/. Questions and comments can be sent to [email protected].