Sacred Heart University is changing the name of its business school to institutionalize the inextricable link between business education and technology in the 21st century.
Effective immediately, SHU’s Jack Welch College of Business is now known as the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology (WCBT). The name change is intended to reflect the integration of these two critical fields of academic endeavor and their collaborative roles in today’s marketplace. It also honors the long career of the school’s namesake, former General Electric chairman and CEO Jack Welch, who led a business focused on technology.
Over the last year, SHU moved its School of Computer Science & Engineering into the College of Business. The school also physically relocated to the university’s West Campus, which is the former GE world headquarters.
SHU has re-outfitted the West Campus buildings to create an innovation campus that it hopes may become a platform for business growth in the region. Facilities include an 11,000-square-foot makerspace, an innovation center that includes a partnership with Verizon, artificial intelligence labs and more.
According to Rupendra Paliwal, SHU’s provost and vice president of academic affairs, incorporating computer sciences and engineering programs into the College of Business reflects the degree to which entire industries are becoming digital ecosystems. Many employers require a new workforce with traditional and digital business acumen and the ability to understand and navigate emerging business models.
“In a world increasingly dominated by digital platforms and ecosystem economy, traditional industry boundaries need to be questioned with a much broader frame of reference in formulating strategies for the future,” Paliwal said. “While this is true for corporate leaders, higher-education institutions also need to create a learning environment that is interdisciplinary and collaborative to help students build critical capabilities for the future.
“With technology becoming an integral part of every business, it calls for the intentional and comprehensive integration of business and technology education,” Paliwal added.
SHU also recently recruited a new dean to lead the WCBT: Martha J. Crawford, whose education and professional background also reflect this dual focus on business and technology.
Crawford, who has been teaching at the Harvard Business School since 2016, holds a Ph.D. in engineering and an MBA. Before rejoining academia in 2016, she worked as chief technology officer for several multinational corporations, including Air Liquide, Areva and L’Oréal.
