Welcoming Dean Gunderson 

Beth Gunderson permanently stepped into the role of dean in Hamline’s School of Business (HSB) on June 30, 2022, after a year of serving as interim dean.

Gunderson began her role as interim dean in July of 2021 under the expectation that the previous dean, Anne McCarthy, would be returning.

“When I was interim dean, I was just kind of holding true. Keeping things going the way they were going, so that when the previous dean was able to come back, she could come back and we just kept chugging along,” Gunderson said. “So in many ways, when I look back at last year, it was almost like we were in neutral, just coasting along, making things work.”

A September newsletter from the HSB noted accomplishments from McCarthy’s 11 years as dean, including the creation of the Wells Fargo Finance and Analytics Room and the Career Mentor Program. McCarthy is currently on sabbatical, and will join the HSB faculty in July of 2023.

Gunderson has been at Hamline for 43 years and has collected experience to help her in this role, beginning as a faculty member in the Economics Department.

With the role of dean comes a new workspace for Gunderson.

“Well, a big change for me personally, was that I shifted from my old office to a new office and that’s kind of a plus and a minus. I’ve got this lovely setting, to speak with people,  but it’s kind of away from the faculty,” she said. “Faculty will stop by to check in and see how things are going, but it feels a little lonely.”

Students’ perspective 

Many HSB students haven’t noticed the switch of Dean Gunderson’s position and do not mind the change.

“I haven’t found many differences from Anne McCarthy to Beth Gunderson. Truthfully, I don’t think many if any of the business students really knew that we got a new dean,” junior marketing major Lucas Englin said in an email. “Staffing gets changed for one reason or another and most of the time students hardly realize, especially when it’s on the administrative side.”

Students like Lydia Lecher, a senior and accounting major, are enjoying classes that HSB has to offer. 

“The classes I am taking are high-speed, and they are detailed in preparing us for graduation and for the real world. I am learning so much and thankful for the support of the professors,” Lecher said in an email.

Students also have some ideas for change for the business school.

“I would love to have a variety of business classes, something that isn’t strictly super serious business,” Englin said.

Some academic support would also be beneficial to students.

“I would like to see more tutors available, as sometimes it is difficult to keep up as the semester goes so fast,” Lecher said. 

Possible changes to come 

 With this big change, Gunderson is paving her way with excitement. 

“When I think about this year, now it’s thinking more towards the future,” Gunderson said. “Where do we want to go? What do we want to accomplish?”

Following HSB’s program review during Spring 2022, the department is moving towards flexibility for their students and looking for ways to make connections between disciplines and paths from bachelor’s to master’s degrees, decisions supported by faculty.

This includes looking into the whole business major and the way it is set up. Possibilities include a four plus one program such as business analytics within business, a Master of Business Analytics and a Bachelor of Business Administration that could allow students more time and two degrees.

“It’s amazing to think about the possibilities … We’re really looking at our whole business major to the core… because of the way our program is set up, we have a core and then we have concentrations that shoot off of it in different areas. And we’re really looking at that carefully to look at the flexibility for students and the ability of students to get the skills based minors and as well as as we look at the immersions,” Gunderson said.