Philadelphia, July 28, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Following a comprehensive national search, La Salle University has named MarySheila McDonald, J.D., as Dean of its School of Business. McDonald joined La Salle in March 2011 as the School’s Associate Dean, and since January 2017, she has served as its Interim Dean.
In the interim role, she facilitated the development and launch of La Salle’s new 100% online MBA, worked to increase undergraduate enrollment, and helped to launch a partnership with Uber, their first with a Philadelphia university, to bring convenient and low-cost transportation to students, faculty and staff.
“I am confident MarySheila will bring strategic and visionary thinking and an entrepreneurial mindset to La Salle as we seek to grow the enrollment of the School of Business, enhance its programming and reputation, recruit and retain exemplary faculty, and continue to ensure exceptional outcomes for its students,” said Brian Goldstein, Provost and VP for Academic Affairs at La Salle University. “Additionally, she has been a passionate and relentless advocate for our students and their academic advancement, with an ironclad commitment to our Lasallian values and mission.”
Prior to joining La Salle, McDonald spent 12 years at Philadelphia University, first as Assistant Dean, Undergraduate Business Programs from 1999-2001, and then Assistant Dean, Graduate Business Programs from 2001-2011 where she managed two MBA programs, a M.S. in Taxation program and pre-Masters and post-Masters certificate programs.
At La Salle, McDonald has been responsible for maintaining the AACSB accreditation for the School of Business and creating the Dean’s Student Advisory Board. She established the Delta Sigma Pi professional fraternity, now the largest student organization in the school. Under her watch, the School of Business made the Princeton Review’s list of Best 294 Business Schools 2017—La Salle’s first inclusion in this prestigious citation.
Her research interests include the impact social media has on employment decisions as well as issues surrounding women in the workplace. Publications include articles in academic journals, a co-authored book chapter, and op-ed and book review pieces for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
A member of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) Associate Deans’ Affinity Group, McDonald is in her 10th year of service on the executive board of MAACBA, the AACSB regional affinity group. She was instrumental in La Salle’s inaugural inclusion in the Princeton Review’s 294 Best Business Schools, announced this past October.
MarySheila McDonald earned a B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, and a Juris Doctorate from Temple University School of Law.
About La Salle University La Salle University was established in 1863 through the legacy of St. John Baptist de La Salle and the Brothers of the Christian Schools teaching order, which St. La Salle founded in 1680. La Salle is an educational community shaped by traditional Catholic and Lasallian values, and has consistently been recognized for providing exceptional value to students, most recently by Money magazine (5th on the 2016 list of “50 Colleges That Add the Most Value”), Forbes (“America’s Best Value College” list), and The Economist (“Top 100 Schools in the U.S. for Value”). Globally, the Lasallian educational network includes nearly 1,000 schools and centers of education, including 62 colleges and universities, serving 960,000 students in 77 countries. www.lasalle.edu
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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2e15c448-c7df-46eb-ac44-da4729bfb32a
CONTACT: Jaine Lucas La Salle University 215-806-2820 [email protected]