(Image from the Loyola Marymount University MBA school web page)
Former Associate Dean & Director of the LMU MBA Program.
Dr. Katz was the Associate Dean and MBA Director at Loyola Marymount University when I did my MBA in the early 2000s. My evolving career had created opportunities for which such a degree would be useful, and while I had been taking courses regularly to stay abreast in technology and such, it had been over a decade since I engaged in multi-course, formal education.
My application essay spoke to that. How returning to the classroom for a degree was my goal. How I’d really wanted to attend LMU out of high school, but could not afford to. How this degree at this moment of life would be a valuable contribution as I diversified my managerial positions.
She spoke to this at our first meeting. She pointed out that the range of work experience and past education made me eligible for a shorter Executive MBA program, which was 9 classes instead of 21. I thanked her, but noted that much of my knowledge had been from a bachelor’s degree over ten years prior, on-the-job learning, and focused courses.
“I want full pain,” I joked. “ I need to ensure that any gaps in my knowledge are properly filled.” She appreciated my approach, then asked what specific discipline I would emphasize in. At that time, the options were finance, entrepreneurship, marketing, organizational behavior, human resources and information systems.
My response was easy. “ I'll take courses that inspire & challenge me. You can give it a name when I'm done." She got such a laugh out of that, and I set off on my adventure. During my time, she also came to appreciate my candor in discussing the program in general, and feedback on materials and instructors.
Towards completion, she called me into her office. “You need to pick a discipline,” she said.
“What do I qualify for?” I asked.
“Finance, entrepreneurship, or organizational behavior,” was her response.
Given where my career has evolved to during my three years of part time classes while working full time, organizational behavior was the best fit. I had found that many employers didn’t focus on the discipline anyway, and my past experiences involving finance and entrepreneurship had better recognition.
My career grew robustly, and enabled the choice to leave that line of work after 35 years to pursue other interests.
We remained kindred spirits.