New Dean Ready to Build on School of Business Success

In only a few short weeks in Hoboken, Stevens School of Business Dean GJ de Vreede has already made an important discovery.

“It’s a great time to be a Duck.”

De Vreede officially began his tenure at Stevens on September 1 after serving as interim dean of the University of South Florida (USF) Muma College of Business. His time in Tampa was marked by several milestones, including expanding enrollment, exceptional fundraising efforts and an all-time high in scholarship funding.

He managed Muma’s dual AACSB accreditation with zero deficiencies and was known for his initiatives to enhance research and faculty development. On his watch, the college-wide Research Academy and Teaching Academy were established, and he supported the acquisition of more than $13 million in collaborative research funding.

A distinguished scholar himself, de Vreede’s research focuses on artificial intelligence, crowdsourcing and collaboration engineering. His work has appeared in prestigious journals such as Information Systems Research, Journal of Management Information Systems, Information & Management, Management Information Systems Quarterly Executive, Small Group Research, and Communications of the ACM.

He has held leadership and (visiting) faculty positions around the world, including the International Summer School of the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, Renmin University of China in Beijing, the Management Center Innsbruck at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and the University of Arizona.

“There are many things that attracted me to Stevens,” he said. “First of all, it's the reputation and standing of the business school. What has been accomplished here in the past 12 years is truly remarkable. It's an inspiring story, and it's truly an exceptional opportunity to become part of that team.

Getting to Know GJ de Vreede

What are your top priorities?

My first priority is to keep our foot on the accelerator and keep the progression going. We want to keep building our programs to strengthen the talent pipeline for our business partners and attract more students.

How does Stevens’ reputation as a leader in technology impact your vision?

If you look around the industry, the technological landscape is changing at an incredible speed. We have to embrace this change and incorporate it into our programs as well. One of the things we're going to focus on is the integration of AI teachings across our programs so that our students are ready for the job market. They need to know how to use these technologies productively, critically, and ethically. We want to develop a very tight collaboration and interaction with industry. We can do that through our advisory boards and through connecting with young alumni to really learn what the current industry trends and needs are. We also have to be mindful when we are recruiting new faculty. We want people who can bring real experience to the classroom because it inspires our students and strengthens their job market preparation.

Is there such a thing as too much emphasis on technology?

The other side of the coin is that you can't just focus on the latest technology. You also have to focus on the evergreen skills that your students need to have. In the era of AI, critical thinking has become the most important skill that you can give your graduates. They have to understand how to take everything that comes out of AI, think critically about what they are receiving, and then make decisions rather than just accepting whatever is presented to them. The also need soft skills like being able to translate the information they have and make compelling presentations and recommendations to managers and members of the C-suite. If we focus on those skills, and we incorporate the latest developments into our courses, our students are going to be in a prime spot to land the best jobs that are out there.

How do you support faculty research?

Faculty research is the lifeblood of a school. What faculty accomplish in research, they bring into the classroom so that students get exposed to the latest insights and they are most prepared for the job market. Research can be notoriously hard, and I see my role as a dean to make it easier for the faculty. Facilitate opportunities and resources, but then get out of the way and let them focus. I'm going to try and invest in and reward high productivity in research, but at the same time, also invest so that people can initiate new lines of research and can explore new areas. Of course, one of our key considerations is where we end up publishing our research. We’re going to keep focusing on the top journals, those on the Financial Times 50 and UT Dallas 24 lists. We want to remove all obstacles as much as we can and then celebrate successes together. That is going to not only help us improve our rankings, but it’s also going to help us attract more students and high caliber new faculty.

What is your leadership style?

My leadership style is best described in three keywords. First of all, listening, I'm an active listener. I believe you learn more from listening to what others have to say than speaking yourself all the time. I try to understand where people are coming from and what issues they are facing to really understand a situation. Another key word is authenticity. What you see is what you get. If something is possible, I will make it happen. But if something is not possible, I will explain why. Last but not least, transparency. I think it's very important that people understand how decisions are made and how we work together to make decisions. I believe in shared governance. I believe in involving people. When we talk about things, we may disagree, and that's fine, but in the end, we make a decision and then we all go for it. Transparency is a key component of that.

How do you build on the momentum the School of Business has generated?

I tend to be a bit of an academic entrepreneur. I like to try things out. I am always open to finding ways to better serve our students and better serve our business community. Somebody once said, ‘It's important that you fail fast.’ So, if we try something and it doesn't work, no problem. We stop and do something else. In the end, that helps you keep the momentum.

What role do students play in your plans?

I love working with students. Students are a real monitor of what's going on. If you keep your finger on the student pulse, you know how things are being perceived. Are there gaps? Maybe they don't feel challenged enough. Students help create a culture within the school. For example, if there is a lack of cohesion in the student body, you can start investing in that. Or if you see that part of what they're developing as a culture is not yet mimicked within the faculty and staff, you can try to bring those things together. The only way to do that is to interface. Communication is where it all starts. Meeting with student representatives or just talking to students to find out how they’re doing and what’s going on is going to teach you a lot.

How does the school best prepare students for the job market?

Ultimately, our purpose as a school of business is to get students ready for jobs in the business community or for their own startup. Our biggest success metric is the number of students or the percentage of students that have a high-paying, exciting, job by the time they graduate. We have to make sure they are workplace-ready. They need understand the subject matter they studied, but they also need understand the soft skills that are needed to function in the workplace. They have to understand how to network, how to display emotional intelligence, and how to communicate. Basically, how to be a good organizational citizen and excel at their job. We pride ourselves in working closely with industry boards to understand what they are looking for in our graduates, and then helping our students with career counseling, workplace preparation, and placement counseling.

What’s been the most surprising thing about your move to New Jersey?

There were two things that I found out pretty soon that were very different from where I came from. First of all, I can't get my own gas. In the beginning, I got out of the car, but they told me I can't do that here. The other thing was that I was used to going to the grocery store and having them put things into bags. I would bring my own bags, but sometimes I forgot and then they would bag my groceries in plastic bags. I’ve adapted very quickly, but those were two things that struck me.

What are you most looking forward to about living in the area?

Clearly, there are so many things to do and things to experience. I’m really looking forward to sampling the variety of arts, food, music and sports, I want to take some road trips with my family all across the region. It's a beautiful part of the country, and I can't wait to experience it.

Do you have any hobbies or leisure activities?

I really enjoy music. That's a way for me to relax. I play a little bit of piano, but I don't do that nearly enough anymore. I like different genres, but most of all progressive rock. Of course, spending time with my wife and children, chatting and updating each other on what's been going on. I also build Legos sometimes and watch some sports on television. Since I'm from Holland, of course I watch soccer, football as we call it. AFC Ajax from Amsterdam is my team. They are known for a very attractive style of football. I also love watching Formula 1 races.

You’re a big Ted Lasso fan. What about the show draws you in?

First of all, just the whole premise of getting out of your comfort zone, going into a completely new experience, but then being able to inspire others and look at things differently. I think it’s a brilliant way of approaching things both personally and professionally. If you sit back and reflect on what is going on and how the characters grow, you can see that they're reflecting on their situation and making decisions about their life that are really thoughtful and deep. The show has a very fine balance between reflection and humor.

Do you have any hidden talents?

I know how to drive a sports car around the racetrack pretty fast. I learned that some years ago when I drove a Porsche 911. I was living in the Midwest and they would organize drivers’ education weekends at a racetrack in Iowa. One weekend they taught us how to corner, how to hit the apex and maximize your exit speed. Other than it being incredibly fun and an adrenaline rush, it also taught me one very important life lesson: Approach every corner with the intention to do it exactly right. Hit the apex exactly right. Maximize your exit speed. But if you do something wrong and make a mistake, forget about it and focus on the next corner. If you keep thinking about what happened in that corner, you're not ready for the next one and you mess that one up as well. I think that goes for your professional life as well. It's okay to make mistakes and then reflect and learn from them, but don’t dwell too long. Move on and get ready for your next corner.