One of the greatest moments any educator can have is when you learn that something you did truly affected a student’s life in a positive way. I experienced one such moment while having dinner recently at a great new restaurant. While my wife and I were enjoying our meal, the restaurant’s co-owner and executive chef stopped by to visit. As we talked, I learned that he had just earned a degree in finance—from Mays Business School!
Obviously, I wanted to know more—specifically, what had led him from a business degree to a love of culinary excellence. He told me that he had originally thought he would need to get a corporate job for several years but had hoped to eventually go into the restaurant business. As it turns out, though, the professor of one of his business classes had prompted him to look at things in a different way. Essentially, a class assignment had led him to realize that he could combine his business expertise and his passion for cooking into a wonderful business opportunity. Most importantly, he didn’t have to wait several years; he could step out with a new venture right away.
Having the capability to touch lives is a major responsibility. At Mays Business School, we know that we have this capability. We also understand the responsibility that comes along with it. We strive to make sure that everything we do is targeted to touch lives in a positive way. We stay at the forefront of knowledge, we invest heavily in our ability to teach and mentor students, and we work to be positive role models. After all, you never know when an entrepreneur or business leader will introduce a new product that will save lives or a service that will change society in profound new ways. And you never know if the idea for that new product or service will have come from an experience in a class at Mays Business School.
Ricky W. Griffin
Interim Dean, Mays Business School
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Video: Mays grad cooking up a tasty new venture
Ricky W. Griffin is the Interim Dean of the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University. Prior to his current posting, he served as Executive Dean for Research and Doctoral Programs and has been on faculty at Texas A&M since 1981. He has served as editor of the Journal of Management and as an officer in the Southwest Regional Division of the Academy of Management, the Southern Management Association, and the Research Methods Division and the Organizational Behavior Division of the Academy of Management.
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