Associate Deans Conference

Begin your day by networking over coffee. This is an excellent opportunity to reconnect with colleagues, make new connections, and discuss the sessions ahead.

Connect with peers, meet exhibitors, and explore fresh ideas in the Exhibitor Showcase, a space designed to help you build relationships, discover new solutions, and make the most of your time at the conference.

Network with peers and check out the Discover AACSB area to explore our products and services, including the Academy, technology and data, and additional resources to support your institution. Stop by to visit exhibitors and enjoy coffee and refreshments.

Budget pressures are becoming a permanent feature of academic leadership. This candid conversation explores how associate deans are making difficult decisions about staffing, program portfolios, technology investments, and strategic priorities. Panelists will share practical approaches for balancing financial realities with long-term institutional goals while preserving faculty engagement and student success.

Enrollment growth means little without persistence, engagement, and successful outcomes. As student expectations, learning preferences, and career aspirations continue to evolve, business schools must rethink how they support student success. This session explores how institutions are integrating enrollment management, advising, student engagement, academic support, and career development into a holistic student success strategy. Participants will examine emerging practices that improve retention, strengthen the student experience, and better align programs with the needs of today's learners while preparing graduates for a rapidly changing world.

Connect with peers, meet exhibitors, and explore fresh ideas in the Exhibitor Showcase, a space designed to help you build relationships, discover new solutions, and make the most of your time at the conference.

The 2026 Global Standards Refresh introduces targeted updates designed to clarify expectations, enhance alignment, and strengthen the overall accreditation experience. This session will provide a clear overview of what has changed, the rationale behind the updates, and how they may affect strategic planning, accreditation documentation, and continuous improvement processes. Designed for institutions at all stages of accreditation, the session will also include dedicated time for participants to ask questions and gain clarity directly from AACSB experts, ensuring schools leave with greater confidence and practical next steps.

Network with peers and check out the Discover AACSB area to explore our products and services, including the Academy, technology and data, and additional resources to support your institution. Stop by to visit exhibitors and enjoy coffee and refreshments.

Are schools over-measuring learning while underusing the results? Teams will debate the future of AoL, discussing direct versus indirect measures, meaningful assessment, and how to generate actionable insights that improve teaching and learning. Audience polling and discussion will challenge attendees to rethink their own assessment practices.

Associate deans are increasingly expected to lead major initiatives—from AI adoption and curriculum redesign to new program launches and organizational change—often without direct authority over the people responsible for implementing them. Success requires more than management skills; it requires influence, relationship-building, and the ability to create momentum across diverse stakeholder groups. This session explores practical strategies for leading change in complex academic environments. Through examples and peer discussion, participants will examine how to build support, navigate resistance, and advance institutional priorities while balancing the many demands of the associate dean role.

From AI usage and faculty qualifications to accreditation expectations and emerging regulatory considerations, academic policies are evolving rapidly. This session will explore current policy trends, common challenges, and practical approaches for developing policies that support innovation while maintaining academic quality and institutional integrity.

Relax and enjoy the company of your colleagues. This reception is the perfect opportunity to unwind and continue the day’s discussions in a more informal setting.

Stepping into an associate dean role brings new opportunities, challenges, and questions that no orientation program can fully prepare you for. This interactive roundtable is designed for first-time and new associate deans to connect with peers, share experiences, and learn from one another in a confidential and supportive environment. Participants will discuss common leadership challenges, including managing stakeholder expectations, building relationships with faculty and university leadership, setting strategic priorities, and navigating the transition from academic leader to business school leader. Through facilitated conversation and peer mentoring, attendees will leave with practical insights, new connections, and a stronger support network for the associate dean journey ahead.

Begin the final day with networking over breakfast. Reflect on the insights gained and prepare for the final sessions.

Connect with peers, meet exhibitors, and explore fresh ideas in the Exhibitor Showcase, a space designed to help you build relationships, discover new solutions, and make the most of your time at the conference.

Faculty expectations are changing alongside the academic landscape. This session explores strategies for developing faculty talent, encouraging innovation, fostering teaching effectiveness, and aligning faculty activities with institutional priorities. Attendees will leave with practical ideas for creating a culture of continuous improvement and engagement.

Today's alumni expect more than newsletters and fundraising appeals. Learn how business schools are creating meaningful engagement opportunities that strengthen alumni networks, support career development, and generate long-term value for both graduates and institutions.

Many of the challenges facing business schools—talent development, technological disruption, organizational change, and workforce transformation—are being addressed across a range of industries. This session brings perspectives from sectors such as technology, healthcare, consulting, and aviation to explore how leaders outside higher education are navigating change and preparing for the future. Participants will gain fresh insights into leadership, innovation, organizational agility, and talent strategy, while identifying practices that can be adapted to strengthen business school operations and student outcomes.

Network with peers and check out the Discover AACSB area to explore our products and services, including the Academy, technology and data, and additional resources to support your institution.

Associate deans are often called upon to navigate complex leadership challenges with limited time, competing priorities, and no clear roadmap. In this highly interactive peer consulting session, participants will work through real challenges submitted by fellow attendees - from faculty resistance and curriculum redesign to enrollment pressures, organizational change, and resource constraints. Guided by a facilitator, participants will ask questions, share experiences, and generate practical recommendations drawn from their collective expertise. Attendees will leave with actionable ideas for their own institutions while benefiting from the wisdom of a community facing many of the same challenges.

Innovation rarely follows a straight path, and some of the most valuable leadership lessons come from initiatives that didn't achieve their intended outcomes. In this candid, fast-paced session, business school leaders will share stories of projects that fell short of expectations - from curriculum innovation and technology implementation to enrollment strategies, faculty engagement, and organizational change. Speakers will reflect on what they hoped to accomplish, what went wrong, how they adapted, and what they would do differently today. Attendees will gain practical insights, avoid common pitfalls, and leave with a deeper appreciation for experimentation, resilience, and continuous learning in leadership.

Leadership often operates within established assumptions, competing priorities, and institutional traditions that can unintentionally limit innovation. Inspired by Roger von Oech's The Creative Contrarian, this highly interactive session invites associate deans to step outside conventional thinking and explore new possibilities through structured creative exercises. Participants will engage in collaborative "What if?" challenges, visual thinking activities, and guided reflection to reimagine business education leadership, institutional culture, student engagement, and innovation. Rather than focusing on immediate solutions, the session develops creative thinking as a leadership capability and introduces practical facilitation techniques participants can use to foster more innovative conversations within their own institutions.

As expectations for research impact continue to evolve, associate deans play a critical role in shaping the strategies, incentives, and environments that enable faculty to produce research that is both rigorous and relevant. This session will begin with highlights from AACSB's newly released report, A Framework for Research Impact: Insights, Pathways, and Calls to Action, developed by the Research Impact Task Force. A panel of associate deans and research leaders from a range of business schools will then discuss how institutions can foster research impact, align faculty incentives with strategic priorities, navigate implementation challenges, and strengthen the influence of business school research beyond academia.

Connect with peers, meet exhibitors, and explore fresh ideas in the Exhibitor Showcase, a space designed to help you build relationships, discover new solutions, and make the most of your time at the conference.

Network with peers and check out the Discover AACSB area to explore our products and services, including the Academy, technology and data, and additional resources to support your institution.

Some of the best ideas come from colleagues who have faced, and solved, the same challenges you are tackling today. In this series of short talks, associate deans will share practical solutions implemented at their institutions, including what worked, what they learned, and what others can adapt for their own schools.

Two business schools, two different paths to institution-wide AI integration. One began experimenting early and formalized its approach over time through AI-focused degrees, course designations, and stackable credentials. The other moved quickly with a structured strategy from the outset, establishing a task force, a three-tier implementation framework, spaces for experimentation, and faculty and student fellows in its first year. Whether your school is just getting started or expanding existing efforts, you'll leave with practical ideas, and one change you can implement in the coming year.

Conference closing comments will offer a brief opportunity to reflect on key themes, insights, and takeaways that emerged over the course of the event.