UNCP's School of Business names three directors

By Scott Bigelow

The School of Business at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke has selected three professors for director positions, according to Dean Eric Dent.

Cammie Hunt	Joe Lakatos	Rick Crandall

Cammie Hunt will serve as director of Student Enrichment and Success, Dr. Joe Lakatos is the new director of Undergraduate Programs and Dr. Rick Crandall is director for Special Programs. Similar to department chairs, the positions carry teaching responsibilities as well as additional administration duties.

Dr. Dent said the management structure allows each director to provide support to the entire organization.

"In the School of Business, we spent last year hashing out a structure that would best serve our students given the recent growth," Dr. Dent said. "We also wanted to be mindful of the severe critiques of higher education automatically dividing into departments that then become like silos, limiting cross-disciplinary work. Consequently, we developed a structure that attempts to be more holistic and integrated, better supporting students and faculty."

As the new director of Student Enrichment and Success, Hunt will coordinate advisement and retention activities of the school. She will also oversee the internship program.

"This position gives the School of Business a dedicated administrative resource to address strategies to strengthen our efforts in these two critical areas," Dr. Dent said.

As the new director of Undergraduate Programs, Dr. Lakatos will be responsible for overseeing the establishment of learning outcomes for courses and developing strategies to ensure that online courses have a solid pedagogical foundation.

"A very critical area in higher education is demonstrating outcomes of the teaching and learning process," Dr. Dent said.

As the new director of Special Programs, Dr. Crandall will coordinate AACSB (Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business) accreditation. He will also analyze opportunities for international programs and other new ventures in the School of Business.

"The School of Business has grown to a size where AACSB accreditation is appropriate," Dr. Dent said. "This is a substantial five-year process that, when complete, will be a valuable asset to the School of Business and the University as a whole."

Hunt, a five-year veteran of the School of Business, teaches management and communications and is the advisor for the award-winning Students in Free Enterprise organization.

Dr. Lakatos, who has degrees in law and business, teaches business law and finance, as well as being certified in the areas of economics and accounting. Among his recent publications is a case with the Harvard Business School, the most prominent case publisher in the world.

Dr. Crandall teaches management theory and organizational behavior and has a distinguished record of scholarship including, recently, an article in the prestigious Academy of Management Executive.

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