Strategic Plan Updates: Year 1 Update > | Year 2 Update > | Year 3 Update >
To be a world-class business school that transforms lives, organizations, and society.
A Message from Dean Paul A. Pavlou
New technologies and the power of data and digitization are radically transforming business. I believe this decade will be transformational to business education, practice, society, and humankind ...read more.
To offer leading-edge,
student-centered education that is accessible and
affordable, founded on research and grounded in the real world.
We pursue our vision and mission by leveraging the City of Houston with its diversity and its vibrant business community, the momentum of the University of Houston, our alumni, and our unique location on the Third Coast of the United States as a gateway to the world.
We actively engage all stakeholders to achieve our vision and mission.
We always seek to innovate
with an entrepreneurial
spirit and mindset.
We endeavor to transform lives, organizations, and society.
Engage
Students: Obtain both functional and soft skills
Industry: Engage industry for experiential learning and mentorship
Other Disciplines: Cross-disciplinary learning
Alumni: Life-long learning
The Public & Society: Engage for continuous learning
Innovate
Students: Entrepreneurial and creative spirit
Industry: Perform innovative research that is
impactful to business practice
Other Disciplines: Cross-disciplinary innovation
Alumni: Agents of innovation
The Public & Society: Address challenges with
innovative and creative spirit
Transform
Students: Transform lives and create leaders
and agents of positive change
Industry: Transform organizations with a
diverse workforce and impactful research
Other Disciplines: Cross-disciplinary
collaboration
Alumni: Partners and life-long learners
The Public & Society: Transform society to be
more just
Values are essential to pursuing our vision and mission and informing our approach. These values can be remembered simply by the very name of our College — BAUER — Boldness, Accountability, Unity, Excellence, and Resourcefulness.
Boldness
Accountability
Unity
Excellence
Resourcefulness
Unity
Excellence
Resourcefulness
Resourcefulness
Boldness: We are bold, confident, and courageous as we seek to change the world
Accountability: We communicate openly and transparently, hold ourselves accountable, and we follow the highest standard of integrity and ethics.
Unity: We cherish diversity and we encourage inclusivity by treating all members of the Bauer community with respect and dignity.
Excellence: We strive for distinction, originality, and brilliance in everything we do.
Resourcefulness: We are creative, innovative, and entrepreneurial in addressing challenges and opportunities, we value ground-breaking ideas, and we challenge the status quo.
Be a world-class business school, among the very top in the nation.
To become a Top 50 business school in five years and among the Top 25 in 10 years.
Be a world-class leader in
research and education with
(a) a cross-disciplinary mindset,
(b) a global perspective, and
(c) state-of-the-art curricula, while
being accessible and affordable.
Be a leader in instructional innovation and digital learning.
Set the standard for promoting diversity and inclusion.
Be a model for engaging with students, industry, and the community.
Create value by leveraging the powerful network of our alumni and friends.
Impactful Research
We are committed to creating business knowledge that impacts managerial practice and addresses challenges faced by society and humankind, and training the next generation of academic leaders through a robust Ph.D. program.
Cross-disciplinary Mindset
We appreciate that today’s challenges are inherently complex, and we commit to pursue cross-disciplinary approaches to address them.
Global Perspective
We have a global mindset, and we recognize that we live in a globally-connected world with enormous possibilities that we seek to pursue.
Accessible Education
We believe that outstanding education can be accessible, and we are dedicated to making our offerings affordable, flexible, and convenient.
State-of-the-Art Curricula
We understand the powerful forces of digitization and automation, and we strive to stay ahead of the curve by leveraging new technologies.
Student Engagement
We are dedicated to student success through engaging, innovative, and transformative experiences for students in a supportive environment.
Industry Engagement
We pledge to devote our efforts to collaborating with industry, pursuing experiential learning opportunities for students, and contributing to practice.
Community Engagement
We pledge to promote a healthier and more just society by addressing critical societal challenges through active community engagement.
Diversity and Inclusion
We cherish diversity and we commit to inclusivity by treating all members of the Bauer family with respect and dignity.
Bauer Family
We are an unparalleled network of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and partners, and we commit to help each other grow, prosper, and thrive.
As the preeminent Tier-1 public urban business school in Houston and the largest undergraduate business program in Texas...
...the Bauer College is poised to develop the next-generation workforce to drive the economic development of the City of Houston, the State of Texas, the United States, and the world. Based on the research priorities of the University of Houston and major industries in the region, we will identify complementarities among the following current and emerging areas to develop an integrative portfolio of areas of excellence as a basis for a competitive advantage.
Sustainable Energy
The world is undergoing a transition to an energy future that involves reducing the environmental impact of energy use while ensuring modern energy access for a growing global population. The Bauer College of Business, located in the world’s energy capital, has the opportunity to play a major role in helping the energy industry lead this transition through the Gutierrez Energy Management Institute and the University’s sustainability initiatives.
Healthcare Innovation
Houston is home to the largest medical center in the world with over 100,000 healthcare practitioners working within a few miles of the Bauer College of Business. Given the University of Houston’s emphasis on healthcare and its new College of Medicine, including the Humana Institute and the Aspire Fund focus on healthcare, the Bauer College seeks to develop a robust program in healthcare innovation research, education, and industry outreach.
Entrepreneurship
The Bauer College of Business seeks to leverage its world-class programs in entrepreneurship through the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship and the SURE™ Program to make a difference in students’ lives, and to support Houston’s innovation and start-up ecosystem.
Sales
The Bauer College seeks to leverage its world-class Stephen Stagner Sales Excellence Institute by making an impact in the world of ideas, students, and society through innovative and engaging sales research and education that will transform lives, organizations, and society.
Analytics & Artificial Intelligence
Given the role of data, analytics, and artificial intelligence in today’s economy, the Bauer College seeks to be a leader in these emerging areas with their application across disciplines, such as accounting, energy, healthcare, real estate, finance, and supply chain. We envision a multi-disciplinary application of analytics and artificial intelligence through the University of Houston Data Science Institute and partnerships across campus and beyond.
Financial Services &
Real Estate
Houston is a major banking and financial services center. Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate represent 13% of the Gross State Product of Texas. The Bauer College of Business strives to be a leader in these areas, building on existing strengths with the AIM Center for Investment Management, the Cougar Fund and the Alexander Center for Real Estate. We seek to develop a program of research and education in energy finance, commercial banking, wealth management, real estate management and data analytics that addresses the integration of real estate with smart cities, as well as sustainable use of energy.
Inclusive Leadership
One of the most diverse cities in the nation, Houston is among the highest in the nation in corporate headquarters for Fortune 500 firms. As a result of its global footprint, the Bauer College seeks to develop a research and education program with a unique focus on inclusive leadership, which has become a key engine for competitive advantage for organizations.
Additional Opportunities
Finally, Houston is also a major logistics, transportation, trade, sports and entertainment, retail, arts, aerospace, and manufacturing hub, and we envision the Bauer College of Business to support these and other industries through our research, programs, and industry outreach.
Our goal for the Strategic Plan is to be aspirational, inspirational, bold, and ambitious, but also be realistic and attainable. We set out to include representatives of all Bauer stakeholders, including faculty, staff, students, alumni, partners, and Board members.
The process was supported by a 42-person Steering Committee which provided input as we progressed through the strategic planning process and also interfaced with other stakeholders at the Bauer College, including faculty, staff, students, and alumni. Besides, a 10-person subgroup of the Steering Committee, known as the Working Group, supported the Steering Committee to oversee the development of the plan input, developed the materials for the Steering Committee meetings, and provided a review of the draft strategic plan (with staff and student support).
The three key inputs to the process included the output of 13 existing AACSB Task Forces, research and analysis conducted by undergraduate and Executive MBA students under faculty direction, and faculty, staff, student, and alumni surveys conducted by Deutser Clarity Institute.
A key step was the full-day retreat of the Steering Committee which reviewed the inputs and conducted small group exercises to develop the What, How, and Why of Bauer along with the key challenges and opportunities for the next five years, and more broadly, the next decade.
Ultimately, the work was used to identify the key elements of the Strategic Plan presented here.
