Up Close and Personal With Dean James Jiambalvo

A conversation with the Business School's new dean delves into his background, explores the challenges and opportunities facing him, and unveils his vision for the Business School.

UW Business: How did you come to a career in academia?

Dean Jiambalvo: I grew up in Chicago. And while neither of my parents went to college, they really believed in education. They were great savers, and they sent my brothers and me to Fenwick High School in Oak Park, one of the best private schools in Illinois. While studying accounting at the University of Illinois, I tutored minority students. I think that's what got me interested in being a teacher at some point. After I graduated, I worked for Haskins & Sells (now Deloitte & Touche) in Chicago for a few years before going back to Illinois for graduate school. I got the idea that I could do some research for the firm while I was there. I also took a Ph.D. level class and really enjoyed it. I decided that graduate school really agreed with me, so I went on to Ohio State to get my Ph.D. I found that I really liked thinking about accounting more than doing accounting.

How did you come to the UW?

The UW Business School has had a strong accounting program for years and years. Accounting was really just taking off as an academic discipline in the early 1970s, and some of the early giants of the profession were here - people like Gary Sundem, Bill Felix, Bob May and Kasi Ramanathan. I was interested in the West Coast and an urban setting. The UW looked very attractive.

What's the biggest change in university life since you joined the faculty in 1977?

I think for us, and all the top-rated schools, there has been a real shift toward quality teaching. When I arrived, we were probably focused 80 percent on research and 20 percent on teaching. Now it's more like a 50-50 split - even among the top research institutions.

What are your top priorities for the Business School?

We must be focused on quality and community. We want our faculty to publish research in the premier journals, and take part in discourse of all the important issues of the day. We want our curriculum, programs and students to be of the highest quality as well. Our creation of community will be the catalyst: we want to bring together faculty, students and business leaders in meaningful interactions - expand this competitive advantage of living amid some of the world's most exciting and innovative companies through our advisory boards, competitions, speaker series and mentorship programs.

How do you balance the goal of being a world-class program with the mandate to provide accessible education to Washington students?

We want every bright, energetic high school student in Washington to come to the UW and then to the Business School. Having said that, their experience will be richer with some geographic diversity, where they interact with students from around the country and the world.

In what direction do you foresee the Business School moving?

We want to continue to focus on technology, entrepreneurship and international business. At the same time, we still want to provide a solid education in the functional areas of finance, marketing, accounting and management. One of the themes in my teaching is: you get what you measure. Performance measures drive the behavior of managers. We do a lot of measurement in the Business School, and we'll do more.

The economics of higher education have changed. How do you plan to cope with eroding state support?

We will have to become much more self-sustaining. This will require tuition increases offset by substantial scholarship support to maintain accessibility-we've already raised nearly $10 million for scholarships during this capital campaign. We also will have to expand our higher-revenue Executive Programs that allow us to maintain the highest quality for all of our programs. The new facility is the key. A world-class home for the Business School is essential to realizing our ultimate goals.

What is your vision for the Business School?

I would like to see excess demand for every program, including our Executive Education programs. I'd like to see companies say, "I've got to recruit at the UW Business School. I love their students. I need their students." I'd like to have graduating students say that they received the best education anywhere-regardless of where we are ranked. I'd like the quality of education to match the finest schools in the country.

Return to August 2005 BA Alumni News