Smith Hosts DMV Business School Deans Meeting

The likes of rapid AI integration, international student mobility and shifting political winds are interrelatedly challenging U.S. higher education—and industry more broadly. Significantly, business schools, significantly, are relied on to bridge the worlds of higher education and industry/employment toward economic stability.

In response, DMV business school leaders gathered in Van Munching Hall on August 15, 2025, for an inaugural DMV Business School Deans Meeting, where they addressed challenges surrounding master’s program enrollment, international students, financial resilience and the job market.

The meeting was organized by Dean Prabhudev Konana of the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, along with Dean Raju Balakrishnan of the University of Baltimore’s Merrick School of Business and Dean Mary Ann Scully of Loyola University’s Sellinger School of Business and Management.

Topics included “What does the future hold?,” “What does the new business school look like?,” “AI and business education” and “Collaboration and growth opportunities.”

Also contributing to the discussion were deans:

• Paul Almeida, Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business
• Mohamed Djerdjouri, Bowie State University, College of Business
• Prabakar Kothandaraman, Towson University, College of Business and Economics
• David Marchick, American University, Kogod School of Business
• Isaac Marcelin, Associate Dean, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, School of Business and Technology
• Zamira Simkins, Stevenson University, Brown School of Business
• Sudhir Singh, Frostburg State University, College of Business, Engineering, and Computational and Mathematical Sciences
• Alex Triantis, Johns Hopkins University, Carey Business School
• Ajay Vinze, George Mason University, Donald G. Costello College of Business
• Christy Weer, Salisbury University, Perdue School of Business
• Anthony D. Wilbon, Howard University, School of Business
• Sevin Yeltekin, George Washington University, School of Business

Participating Smith School leaders, in addition to Konana, were Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs Joseph Bailey, Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Wedad Elmaghraby and Associate Dean of MBA Programs Rosellina Ferraro.