Leadership Transition at the Zicklin School of Business

August 17, 2022

Dear Colleagues,

I write to share news of an important leadership transition at the Zicklin School of Business. H. Fenwick Huss, PhD, Willem Kooyker Dean, has decided to retire effective December 31, 2022.

Appointed Willem Kookyer Dean in July 2014, Fenwick has served with distinction as the leader of the College’s acclaimed business school, as a principal on various College initiatives, as a member of the President’s Cabinet, and as a valued collaborator with me, President Wu, and many others across the College community. He will be missed.

Upon his retirement, beginning January 1, 2023, Dr. Paquita Davis-Friday, currently Senior Associate Dean, will serve as Interim Dean of the Zicklin School as the College launches a national search for a permanent leader for the School.

Notable and Lasting Impact

Fenwick and the talented Zicklin team have led many projects of notable and lasting impact. Curricular innovations have been a top priority. Under his leadership, the undergraduate curriculum was updated and the MBA curriculum revised. The Executive Doctorate in Business, the first in New York State, was launched as was the MS in business analytics. Prestigious dual-degree programs continued to expand Baruch’s global footprint, including five MBA-MS programs with Chinese institutions and two MSF-MS programs with Italian universities.

Fenwick was also instrumental in launching Zicklin’s DEI Task Force and significantly increasing the size of the Zicklin School’s Advisory Council. He has been a key partner in the development of the Baruch Business Academy model, with the College’s first partner being CUNY’s Borough of Manhattan Community College.

Philanthropy continued to have a major impact at the School. The Paul H. Chook Department of Information Systems and Statistics and the Schwartz Center for Trading and Financial Markets Research were named and endowed during Fenwick’s tenure. Three endowed chairs were announced. The Zicklin Faculty Retention Endowment was established, and a lead gift by Monteforte Foundation helped create the Global Leadership Initiative.

Fenwick’s innovative and student-centered approach has resulted in strong graduate enrollments and top national recognition. In its “2023 Best Graduate Schools,” U.S. News & World Report ranked all three of Zicklin’s graduate MBA programs—Full-Time, Part-Time (evening), and Accounting—#1 among public institutions in New York City and New York State, among other impressive accolades.

Next Steps: Zicklin Leadership Transition

The College will conduct a national search for the next Willem Kooyker Dean. The search committee will be chaired by Dean Jessica Lang of the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences and will include faculty, student, staff, and advisory council members. The search process will be supported by a nationally recognized search firm to be announced soon.

Please join me in thanking Fenwick for his extraordinary service and contributions to Baruch College—to our students, faculty, staff, and alumni—and wish him well on his upcoming retirement. We are grateful to have his guidance over the next five months to ensure a smooth transition; to continue the remarkable, transformative work of Baruch’s Zicklin School; and to contribute to the College’s Strategic Plan process for 2023–28.

Thank you for your collaboration as we embark on this transition. Feel free to reach out to me at provost@baruch.cuny.edu with questions and suggestions along the way.

Sincerely,

Dr. Linda Essig
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs