COVER STORY
Practice What You Teach
Robert B. Duncan Brings Vision and Leadership to the Broad School's Deanship
By Kristen Lare Flory
Every 32 years you know it's time to make a change," says Robert B. Duncan, newly appointed dean of The Eli Broad College of Business and The Eli Broad Graduate School of Management. Although he joked about this with faculty members earlier this fall, Duncan is an authority on change-leadership and organizational change, to be exact. Who better to lead the Broad School to the next level of excellence?
Duncan takes the helm of the Broad School on January 1, 2002 and brings a cache of administrative, teaching, and research experience. Currently, he holds a chaired position as the Richard L. Thomas Professor of Leadership and Change at Northwestern University. But teaching isn't the only area in which Duncan has excelled with Northwestern. He also has served as associate dean for the Kellogg School of Management and provost of the university.
"My administration jobs have given me an opportunity to see how what I've done as a teacher and researcher apply," says Duncan. For instance, when Don Jacobs became the dean of the Kellogg School, he appointed Duncan associate dean because he wanted an administrator who understood the change-management process. A few years later, Arnold Weber was selected as president of Northwestern University. Weber asked Duncan if he would be willing to become a candidate for provost. Weber challenged, "you teach in this area, don't you have the confidence to see if it works?" Duncan became provost in 1987, and spent five years in the position before returning to the faculty in the Kellogg School. He claims that both administrative positions provided him a unique learning opportunity and made him a better teacher and researcher. "You are given the ability to really appreciate the nuances," he says.
Dramatic Change
So, how does an expert in organizational change feel about a fairly dramatic career move? He's excited. The Broad School and Michigan State University were very enticing to Duncan for a variety of reasons. In particular, one thing that excited him about the Broad School was the presence of an undergraduate and a graduate population. He feels that leadership development is a lifelong process. It starts in the undergraduate program, where students are given a basic foundation. Students enter the work force for three to four years, gain experience, and return for their MBA degree. The last component in this lifelong learning process is executive development. "That's what is so great about the Broad School-we have all three prongs," he says.
Size is Everything
Although having both an undergraduate and graduate population provides an advantage in leadership development, it also presents a unique problem: size. The undergraduate population is very large-the largest in the Big 10. Until recent changes in the admissions policy, accreditation was at risk because of the ratio of students to faculty. Conversely, the MBA program is very small, with under 500 students. Having two programs with opposite problems poses a unique challenge for the dean's position. However, Duncan does not see this as an issue. He feels that both programs are doing very well at their current sizes. "The undergraduate program is a very important component of the Broad School," Duncan explains. "It is what earns legitimacy for the university-providing quality education to a large number of qualified students," he says. "The Broad School's standards are very high, which has helped achieve national recognition. In turn, our success helps promote the college and the university." On the MBA level, Duncan sees the small size as a major advantage. "It creates opportunities to do some creative things in terms of leadership development," he says. Broad MBA students can participate in learning-team labs, are paired with executives in the Leadership Alliance Program, and experience a one-on-one relationship with recruiting and placement professionals. Plus, the reputation of the MBA program is top-notch in the marketplace. "I think the belief is to keep it [MBA] the same size and continue the excellent job," says Duncan. "We are getting the very best students-a diverse set of students from the United States and abroad-because globalization is such an important part of what we do."
Thinking Strategically
Academics, however, is just one component of the Broad School. Overall strategic positioning is absolutely critical to the continued success of the college. Duncan believes he has big shoes to fill. "This place has done exceptionally well," he says. "Jim Henry has done a superb job, and I feel a tremendous amount of pressure to continue to make progress." This is where his experience will come in handy. Duncan sees that the Broad School community needs to work together to position the college. He wants to be the role model to get people excited, motivated, and committed to move forward. He wants to demonstrate to people that he is willing to take risks and make tough decisions in a fair and consistent way. "Being a role model, you can't ask anyone to do anything you won't do yourself," he says. "You have to demonstrate consistently that the most important thing is the institution, and that drives every decision you make." Duncan stresses that he must consider the "real" issue based on facts, not the way some might wish a situation. He feels it is vital to create an environment where he can get input-to create a culture where people feel they can make suggestions, disagree, or debate. "I think a leader needs to be a catalyst in terms of the vision and strategy of the school," he says. He wants to work with the departments and chairs to lay out a process that will allow them to step back and look at what is going on in business leadership management. "We need to consider what the key issues will be over the next five to six years concerning research, discipline areas, our distinctive competencies, and how we match up to create the very best curriculum for all of our students," says Duncan.
Something to Talk About
So, what is first on his agenda? Feedback, from everyone-faculty, staff, students, alumni, and corporate recruiters. "I want to sit down and talk to people," says Duncan. By discussing the issues within the college he will develop a strategy process to work collaboratively with faculty, staff, the provost's office, students, and alumni to ensure that all goals are achieved. "I've had the opportunity to work with, and learn from, faculty, staff, students, and alumni. I like having everyone around when an issue comes up so we can figure out what we should do," he says. Duncan has strong ideas about what needs to be done and how to achieve it, but he wants an engaging dialogue with the people around him. "I like to have strong people around me. Our task is to make the best decisions," he says. "Some of the most important words a leader can say is 'what do you think?' "
Learning from the Customers
His feelings about working collaboratively and learning extend into the classroom as well. Feedback from students is essential, and Duncan wants to be very involved with students. He views students as "customers"-he wants to know about their expectations, their needs, and gather feedback in order to make sure that Broad has the very best curriculum. "I come from a place where students are very involved. I want to meet with them periodically to get their feelings and insights in terms of what we are doing and how we are doing," he says. "Students, faculty, and administrators need to work collaboratively to continue to make the curriculum a leading-edge experience." Duncan feels that the immediate issues to work on to get the strategy process in place are faculty and staff retention, recruiting and placement for students, and executive education. He emphasized faculty and staff retention because "this place is great because of the faculty and terrific staff." In addition, boosting fundraising efforts and getting the Henry Center up and running are other priorities. He feels fortunate that the other administrators are here to help. "Don Bowersox has done a tremendous job in the last year as he continued to move the school forward," says Duncan. "His exceptional leadership efforts have really made my transition a lot smoother," he added. "For that, I will always be deeply indebted to him."
Reaching Out to Alumni
Duncan welcomes the role that alumni play in the Broad School. "Who knows you better than your alumni?" he asks. Duncan has been involved with many alumni groups in the past. He sees his relationships with alumni as partnerships. He feels that alumni are critical in many ways. "They are our eyes and ears, they hire our students so they are critical in placement, they are vital as a sounding board, and aid in fundraising," he says. "I really look forward to working collaboratively with our alumni."
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Robert B. Duncan
- Education
BA, Sociology and Psychology, Indiana University, 1964; MA, Sociology, Indiana University, 1966; PhD, Organization Behavior, Yale University, 1971 - Family
Wife-Susan J. Phillips; Children, Stephanie and Christopher - Academic Positions
Assistant professor, 1970-73; Associate professor 1973-76; Professor Kellogg Graduate School of Management, 1976; Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Kellogg School, 1975-76, 1980-82, 1984-86; Provost of Northwestern 1987-92; Currently Richard Thomas Professor of Leadership and Organizational Change - Teaching Awards
Kellogg Professor of the Year; the Sidney J. Levy Teaching Award; Outstanding Professor Award on three occasions in the Executive Master's Program; Selected as Reunion's '99 Alumni Choice Faculty for the faculty member who has had the greatest impact on students' professional and personal lives - Research Areas
Strategy formulation and implementing strategic change - Current Projects
How top management shapes corporate strategy, with a specific emphasis on how CEOs develop and implement corporate strategic visions - Publications
Author of numerous journal articles and two books: Innovations and Organizations (with G. Zaltman and J. Holbeck, Wiley Interscience) and Strategies for Planned Change (with G. Zaltman, Wiley Interscience).