“Standing on business,” a term that describes someone committed to their responsibilities and values, fits Joby John like a tailored suit.
John is truly a jack of all trades. From attending three different churches, teaching adult bible study, learning how to read music, playing bass guitar, becoming a pilot, taking drawing lessons, teaching business on all continents, and being on the board of advisors for a business school in France, John has accomplished various quests. Not to mention also being a dean for two universities, of course.
The new dean of the College of Business at Lamar University, John takes pride in his position.
“It must not be taken lightly,” he said. “It has to be taken very seriously, because that’s the job and responsibility that has been entrusted to me by the president, on behalf of the community, on behalf of Lamar, on behalf of all of you students, on behalf of the faculty and staff. I value that a lot.”
John earned his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy and gained business experience in pharmaceutical marketing after earning his MBA.
“I worked for Pfizer,” John said. “And then, after a while, I worked in a couple of other companies in India and came to Oklahoma State University for my PhD in marketing. Then I went and taught in Boston for 22 years at Bentley University.”
At Bentley, John was a faculty member for 14 years, spending the last eight years as department chair. After becoming dean of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette College of Business for eight years, John took a sabbatical before returning to teach marketing.
COVID-19 changed to the way technology is used, John said, which drew him back into a dean position.
“I had not wanted to go anywhere beyond three to four hours out of Lafayette,” John said. “Lamar happened to be looking for a dean last year. And so I decided, this is a kind of school I would like to apply to.”
John said that he did not want to step into another dean’s role unless he felt there was something significant that he could do to improve student life through impactful initiatives.
“One of the things I would like to do is to manage this new technology-based delivery like online courses and hybrid courses — reach students who are non-traditional age students as well,” he said. “The way you live, the way you work, the way you play, today’s generation is a very different generation than 10 years ago. So, universities that adapt to those kinds of changes are going to do better.”
John said universities need to focus on how student’s needs have changed, including people who have already left university and started working.
“So, it’s also reaching nontraditional age students who might want to come back for a graduate degree, but they can’t come back full-time,” he said. “You have to figure out a way to construct a degree that will meet their lifestyle and work style. That means executive education, that means professional education. It means hybrid delivery. It means online courses. It means different ways of teaching, and that’s what impactful initiatives mean.”
John said that it is important for Lamar to cater to the area’s markets, such as refineries, oil and gas companies, and the energy sector, and to create programs that are unique to Southeast Texas.
“If we can get our programs to cater to that market, I think we’ve found a way to distinguish ourselves,” John said. “One of the things we are looking at is an energy management program for all levels from undergraduate all the way to doctoral level.”
Offering a minor or concentration in energy business is also in John’s future plans.
The opportunity to lead an academic community into the future is serious responsibility, John said.
“(A) whole generation coming up, five to 10 years, will be impacted by what I can do with the community,” he said.
John said he spent his first 100 days in the position observing the community and culture. He has met with various administration members as well as leaders in the community, the mayor’s office, the Chamber of Commerce, donors, and prominent alumni of the college.
“You can’t lead a community unless you know the community in total,” he said.
John said Lamar is a place that values its legacy, a place where people get along with one another, and a place students are proud of.
“They’re comfortable with what we offer here and who we are as an institution,” he said. “That’s like a very comfortable home.”
For more on the College of Business, visit lamar.edu/business.
