CORRECTION: In a previous headline for this article, Ken Kavajecz’s name was misstated. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Ken Kavajecz, dean of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, has all the qualities every dean should have.

He’s a leader and an innovator. He’s ambitious and passionate.

But there’s one quality he has that stands out: He’s a risk taker.

“I believe the only way we are going to get better is take risks,” Kavajecz, said in an email.

As chair of the department of finance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Kavajecz took the risk of creating a specialized master of business administration program. Now, as the new dean of Whitman, Kavajecz hopes to take risks and make use of his leadership skills to strengthen the school’s rankings and its relationship with alumni.

“My first priority at the Whitman School is to build a partnership culture between students, faculty, staff and alumni,” Kavajecz said. “We must strive to be collaborative, and ensure this partnership stays alive from our freshman class to our most senior alumni.”

Whitman has all the pieces needed to be successful, Kavajecz said. Now it’s just a matter of putting them together. He said Whitman has a bright student body, a dedicated staff and engaged, supportive alumni.

When the search committee was looking for a new dean, it sought a candidate who could make Whitman one of the top 25 ranked business schools, said Lorraine Branham, chairwoman of the search committee and dean of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Branham said the committee felt Kavajecz would do well at SU.

While many consider rankings to be important tools to measure a school’s success, Kavajecz said they don’t tell the whole story.

“Business school rankings are a reality we need to deal with. While they do contain some useful information, they do not capture a significant portion of our, and other schools’ missions,” Kavajecz said. “They are an imperfect measure, and they should be used accordingly.”

Vice-Chancellor and Provost Eric Spina said Kavajecz brings a lot of experience and has a good background for the job.

With his experience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Kavajecz is very well- prepared for his new position as dean, Spina said. He also said Kavajecz did his homework on SU, and was able to articulate the things he wanted to improve about Whitman.

“He’s a terrific scholar and a very strong teacher,” Spina said. “He brings a thoughtfulness and intentionality to engaging the staff and students.”

Spina said it’s important for Kavajecz to continue building on the current strengths of Whitman, as well as improving other areas of the school that aren’t as prominent. He said Kavajecz will need to work with alumni supporters and faculty to advance the school in ways that are natural rather than forcing things.

“Whitman is an important school at SU,” Spina said. “It’s gotten better over the last 10 years, and it can be better and we want it to be better.”

Willie Reddic, who served on the search committee, said he believes Kavajecz really understands the values and mission of SU and Whitman.

Reddic said he hopes Kavajecz can ultimately grow Whitman’s reputation to the point where it becomes a household name.

Kavajecz said he sees areas where the school can improve, specifically adapting to the changing landscape in higher education.

He said it isn’t as common today for people to receive one degree and work with that degree permanently. People are constantly trying to improve themselves.

“I think we need to take seriously, and act on, the fact that we are all lifelong learners,” Kavajecz said.

Kavajecz knows he has challenges ahead in his time as dean.

He said with all the availability of educational content online, Whitman needs to identify its mission, and find out what will set it apart in the years to come.

“We need to be delivering something above and beyond just content. It has to be a network, there has to be interaction, and there has to be the power of learning from your colleagues and peers and knowing how to work with others,” Kavajecz said. “Those institutions that understand how to deliver a transformational experience are going to succeed.”

Published on August 27, 2013 at 3:10 am

Contact Brett: blsamuel@syr.edu | @Brett_Samuels27