Strategic Plan

February 2025

The process formally kicked off in February 2024 with a Gabelli School of Business Senior Leadership Team strategic planning retreat. After surfacing initial ideas, a Strategic Planning Steering Group and a Project Team were formed, composed of leaders, faculty members, and administrators. (Refer to the Acknowledgements Section on page 20 for a list of these participants.)

Throughout the spring of 2024 the focus was on research and engagement. Working from the outside in, research was conducted on trends driving and influencing the future of work, business, and higher education. Key thought leaders from across the institution were convened to discuss the intersection of these trends, the opportunities they presented, and the strategic imperatives required for the Gabelli School to meet the challenges ahead. Numerous industry dynamics also were taken into account as the group considered the need to rethink the role and the value proposition of business education, as well as the relevancy of business schools themselves.

To identify potential strategic priorities and opportunities for innovation, a large and diverse number of stakeholders from across the Gabelli School community—learners, faculty, staff, administrators, advisory board members, alumni, and industry partners—were invited to provide their input. Utilizing a variety of channels including surveys, open forums, and a faculty and administrator strategic planning retreat, input and ideas were gathered and distilled into a draft set of strategic priorities.

Throughout the research, listening, and engagement process, several key and consistent themes emerged based upon the input provided by members of the Gabelli School community:

• We are extremely proud of our Jesuit mission and traditions and our remarkable community.
• We see these as an important part of the Gabelli School value proposition, and we recognize the need to lean into these even more intentionally.
• We collectively acknowledge that the Gabelli School is at a pivotal point in its history. We feel the urgency to innovate more rapidly than ever before to serve our learners, partners, the marketplace, and society at large, yet we know this will require us to reimagine our internal processes and culture to do so.
• We recognize the strength of our rankings, programming, and placement rates. To compete against top-tier business schools, we need to prioritize and resource marketing to increase brand recognition.
• We understand that distinguishing the Gabelli School requires a focus on the strengths that set us apart, while positioning us as not only relevant—but necessary—in a changing marketplace and world.

• Fordham University’s Jesuit values and “Cura Personalis” approach, which stress caring for the whole person with an emphasis on growth and self-actualization.
• New York City location that provides unparalleled industry engagement combined with a global mindset that equips students with the opportunities and cultural competencies needed to succeed.
• An unwavering commitment to responsible business and leadership that encourages financial success, while focusing on integrity, sustainability, and the needs and well-being of people and planet.
• Future-oriented research and programming that drive continuous innovation and the industry insights to transform business.
• Curious and courageous learners who demonstrate compassion, grit, and tenacity in their studies and service—all supported by an inclusive and caring community.

The Gabelli School of Business Strategic Plan was developed in parallel with Fordham University’s Strategic Plan. During the School’s strategic planning process, an open and ongoing dialogue was established with university leadership. In addition, throughout Fordham’s planning process, key strategic imperatives emerged, which have been carefully and consistently included in the School’s plan. These include:

• Emphasizing the value of our Jesuit principles, transformative education, and caring community as key differentiators.
• Leveraging our NYC location as a strategic advantage and point of differentiation.
• Increasing transdisciplinary research on issues that matter.
• Diversifying revenue streams to fund new initiatives and enhance affordability and opportunity provided by the education we deliver.

In addition to aligning with and supporting university goals and objectives, the Gabelli School has a unique set of imperatives that must be addressed to ensure long-term success. These include:

• Growing revenue to ensure financial sustainability, offset revenue at risk, and fulfill our nonprofit educational mission.
• Increasing marketing to overcome a lack of brand awareness; strengthen our reputation; and drive yield, partnerships, and revenue.
• Creatively balance the sometimes-conflicting priorities of:
• Modeling and increasing efficiency and effectiveness as a business school, while ensuring a humanistic approach, adhering to our Jesuit principles, and helping the members of our community to flourish.
• Incentivizing and rewarding faculty members to innovate, forge creative partnerships, and develop new programming, while remaining focused on delivering core undergraduate and graduate transformative education.
• Meeting accreditation requirements and increasing rankings, while continuing to innovate.

As a highly respected, AACSB accredited, nationally and globally ranked business education leader, the Gabelli School has a sustained track record of growth, success, and impact.

The School’s rankings are on the rise. Most recently, the School ranked #21 nationwide in Poets&Quants in the category of Best Undergraduate Business Schools of 2024. The Financial Times ranked the Full-time M.B.A. program #78 globally for 2025; and five M.B.A. concentrations ranked in the top 25 of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Business Schools for 2024.

Throughout our 105-year history, we have prepared future leaders of industry by responding to emerging business needs and creating innovative programs, including our most recent addition, the M.S. in Artificial Intelligence in Business, launched in spring of 2025.

In addition to helping students find their purpose, we ready them for careers that will secure their financial future. Ninety-eight percent of Gabelli School undergraduate students typically hold at least one internship, and “The Ground Floor” course instills a sense of social innovation and responsible business from Day 1. Graduate programs attract students from across the country and around the world, who choose to build their knowledge and network in NYC. The School’s newly launched Graduate Student Success Center provides comprehensive academic and career counseling, with 83% of Full-time M.B.A. students accepting full-time job offers within three months of graduation.

As part of Fordham University, which is recognized as an Ashoka U Changemaker Campus, the Gabelli School contributes to this status by leading the charge in responsibly focused business higher education. Social innovation and responsible business are hardwired into our DNA and our programming. The School offers an impressive portfolio of sustainable and responsible business courses, as well as consulting projects. It also is home to the Responsible Business Center, which serves the business community, academicians, and students by supporting research to advance sustainable and responsible business best practices, hosting industry conferences, developing educational initiatives, and forging partnerships that encourage and amplify ethics and integrity in business.

Faculty members are renowned scholars and thought leaders, whose groundbreaking research is frequently published in FT50 journals, and whose expertise is highly sought after for mainstream media commentary including Forbes, WSJ, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and Fortune, as well as at academic and industry conferences. They are dedicated not only to producing future-oriented research that drives innovation and impact for business and society, but also to providing the transformative education that shapes the whole student—mind, body, and soul.

While innovation encompasses conducting the groundbreaking research that advances knowledge, incorporating emerging technologies into educational delivery, and continuously improving educational programming to prepare students for a changing marketplace, it does not stop there. In fact, true innovation also requires rewiring ourselves and our institutions to disrupt habitual thinking and spark creative insights. Only then will we be able to cultivate the mindset, evaluate and implement the processes, and evolve the systems that will enable the rapid response, iterative development, and interdisciplinary approach often lacking within the culture of traditional institutions of higher education. In the case of the Gabelli School, the business sustainability and innovation that we teach about in our classrooms must also be adopted in our own business and operating models to ensure the educational accessibility and institutional relevance that will keep us competitive for the long term.

The Gabelli School brings together a truly unique group of learners, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, and industry partners. Every individual adds value to the Gabelli School community by sharing differing perspectives, experiences, and skills that foster a communal sense of purpose, collaboration, and resilience. Nothing could be more important in a world and a business environment in which emerging challenges and increasing complexities require the collective spirit, talents, knowledge, and cooperation of many to—not only survive—but thrive. Through enhanced classroom teaching and learning; the fostering of faculty, administrator, and staff development; and the cultivation of new and strategic industry partnerships, we will continue to strengthen our community, embracing the Jesuit value of Cura Personalis—care for the whole person—while focusing on pressing issues and opportunities for growth and enlightenment.

Throughout its history, the Gabelli School of Business has strived to make a difference by leveraging business as a catalyst for positive and lasting change. To ensure the School continues to build upon the momentum it has achieved and the reputation it has earned as a changemaker and innovator, a cultural shift must occur. Maximum impact can only be achieved through the personal and professional growth of each and every stakeholder, and by making certain the resources required for institutional success are available and applied to tackle complex business and societal problems, and to make the world a better place.

The first initiative in each category is transformational and critical to our success. The second is foundational and will play an instrumental role in living out our mission and achieving our vision.

We will invest in the future of business by reconceptualizing the lifelong learner journey from applicants to alumni and will strive to anticipate what comes next.

In parallel, we will focus on developing three to five Institutes of Excellence (see details below), which will serve to distinguish our thought leadership and elevate the Gabelli School brand. New models of industry partnership will be paired with our renowned academic expertise to drive influence, build reputation, increase revenue, and amplify impact.

We will commit wholeheartedly to reimagining our business and operating models, while rewiring our internal systems and cultivating a culture that removes restrictions and empowers new possibilities.

Therefore, as we implement the strategy, we will be looking to raise the bar on key targets such as: reputation, yield, and placement. These will be increased by enhanced student perceptions of our transformative education and propelled by highly engaged and fulfilled faculty, staff, and administrators. To increase opportunities for all and ensure our sustainability, we will measure and monitor efficiency and revenue gains. None of these targets are mutually exclusive; rather, they work together to drive our success.

As we realize our strategic initiatives, the positive culture we create will fuel our ability to enhance student experiences and will reinforce the value proposition of the transformative Jesuit education we provide. The transformative education we provide will serve as an enabler for increasing yield and building reputation. This in turn will drive revenue and our ability to increase influence and impact.

The Institutes of Excellence and new partnership models we develop will increase alternative revenue streams, allowing us to invest more heavily in our people and programs, while increasing our brand awareness. The efficiencies we achieve in program delivery through new tools and techniques, will make a Gabelli education more accessible and will enhance our team members’ skills, as well as their ability to advance our mission, in turn supporting engagement and retention.

The strategic planning process has provided tremendous insights into the needs and concerns of our learners, who are enthusiastic about new technologies and career paths that offer fresh opportunities, yet who are worried about their financial future and the cost of acquiring a degree in their related field of interest.

It also has revealed the energy, enthusiasm, and outstanding accomplishments of our faculty members, whose cutting-edge research and dedication to teaching excellence provide the underpinnings for our success. To move forward they will require additional resources to truly innovate in their areas of expertise and provide the thought leadership that will influence the future of business, prepare tomorrow’s leaders of industry, and elevate the Gabelli School’s reputation in academic circles and in the global business community.

In addition, the process has amplified the unprecedented changes occurring in the business environment and the need to be highly attuned to the challenges they pose, but more importantly, the opportunities they present. The Gabelli School must be agile and equipped to anticipate what comes next by developing new programs, forging new partnerships, and cultivating the “can do” spirit that addresses change head-on and that builds its reputation as a problem-solver, innovator, and catalyst for positive impact.

In a world of technical disruption, global turmoil, and social unrest, it remains clear that the Jesuit education the Gabelli School provides is more critical than ever before. People from all walks of life choose to teach, learn, and work here because they believe in the power of the enlightened Jesuit tradition we embrace and the compassionate and responsible business education we provide. We must lean into this unique philosophy, ensuring that it permeates the teaching and learning in our classrooms and the value of all that we do.

The Strategic Plan provides a comprehensive path to success that builds upon our strong foundations, while empowering us to transform strategically. Through its prescribed initiatives, goals, and targets we will reimagine the applicant to alumnus lifelong journey, recalibrate our business and operating models, reinvest in our people and resources, rethink the ways in which we distinguish ourselves through Institutes of Excellence, reinvest in our current partnerships while establishing new ones, and realize our full potential through the creation of new and reallocated revenue streams.

We recognize that our collective success depends upon our ability to execute, hold ourselves accountable, and be adaptive. We are incredibly grateful to all of those who have participated in this process, and we will work to ensure that we communicate our progress and continue to seek guidance as we move forward. We are very much looking forward to continuing this journey together and to reaping the rewards of the hard and thoughtful work that has been completed.