Advancing Teaching and Learning

The goal Advance guides the Sobey School of Business to enable greater student engagement and success through transformative learning experiences that incorporate social responsibility, leverage intercultural perspectives and develop creative entrepreneurial mindsets. We have launched two new programs this year, and faculty have worked hard to update existing programs and courses to better reflect the current business landscape. With the transformational 2019 Sobey gift of $18 million, we were also able to appoint five Sobey Professorships across departments for five-year terms.

The Launch of the MBAN Program and the Dr. Robert P. Kelly Scholarship Gift

The Master of Business Analytics (MBAN) program, the first of its kind in Atlantic Canada, meets the growing need for talented data analytics professionals with the skills and advanced applied knowledge to develop, evaluate, refine and implement analytics applications to drive business innovation and success.

To support students in the new program, Dr. Robert (Bob) P. Kelly BComm’75 DComm’97, former CEO of the Bank of New York Mellon and former Chancellor of Saint Mary’s University, gave a generous $1 million gift to A World Without Limits: The Campaign for Saint Mary’s University to create the Dr. Robert P. Kelly Master of Business Analytics Scholarships. The Sobey School of Business would like to thank Dr. Bob Kelly for his generous and ongoing support of our students, faculty and program.

Bob Kelly, Sobey School of Business alumnus

“The new Master of Business Analytics program fills an important demand in the business sector while increasing scholarship in the cross-disciplinary field of business data analytics.”

— Dr. Michael Zhang, MBAN Program Director

“Whether it’s discussions about businesses and start-ups, sports or reality TV and influencers, analytics is the driver behind how people approach their decisions. Seeing Saint Mary’s launch the new Master of Business Analytics program makes me think about new career paths and opportunities.”

— Morgan Baker-Tucker BComm’22

The Launch of the EDBA Program

A first for Atlantic Canada, the full-time Sobey Executive Doctorate of Business Administration (EDBA) program aims to cultivate research professionals. Designed for seasoned executives, the program offers an impressive credential that will not only distinguish their value in the job market but also reward them with critical knowledge and skills to succeed in today’s complex business environment.

“As organizers seek to bridge the gap between research and practice, the demand for EDBAs will continue to grow.”

— Dr. Wendy Carroll, Academic Director, EDBA Program

The Sobey PhD in Business Administration Expands to Include Three Specializations

Building on strengths developed over 20 years of running our PhD Management program, the Sobey School of Business was pleased to announce its PhD in Business Administration’s expansion into three specializations: Accounting, Finance and Management.

Student Profile

Student: Zachary Konings
Name of Program: PhD in Business Administration, Accounting
Years in program: 2
Research Interests: Auditor judgement and decision making; specifically the intersection of professional skepticism, emerging technologies and auditing standards.

“The Sobey School of Business PhD program allows students to not only better understand their disciplines’ broader discourse, but to critically reflect on their own position as an emerging scholar.”

— Zachary Konings, PhD student in Accounting

Sustainable Development Goals Launch in Introduction to Business Management

Dr. Vurain Tabvuma, with support from the Sobey School of Business, has re-organized the foundational course Introduction to Business Management to introduce students to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as early as possible in their academic careers. Working with the Vancouver-based organization SDG Labs, Tabvuma incorporated educational video content and workbooks tailor-made for the Sobey School of Business into his course. Tabvuma ran this launch for over 600 students in the fall of 2021.

Tabvuma, who has been teaching Introduction to Business Management for the last four years, had already reworked the course to give it a stronger sustainability component. Incorporating the SDGs more prominently was his next logical step, and the SDG Labs’s engaging content created the perfect hands-on learning environment.

“I wanted to help students understand different approaches to business and encourage them to start thinking about corporate social responsibility and social ecological thought perspective early. Once it’s in your mind it will influence you for the rest of your life.”

— Dr. Vurain Tabvuma, Sobey Professor in Management

Sobey Professorships

With the transformational Sobey gift of $18 million, the Sobey School of Business has appointed five Sobey Professorships across departments for five-year terms. These professorships were established as part of a broader initiative to grow the research and scholarship impact of the Sobey School.

These five professorships have been awarded to:

Dr. Yigit Aydede, Sobey

Professorship in Economics

Dr. Natalia Kochetova, Sobey

Professorship in Accounting

Dr. Ethan Pancer, Sobey

Professorship in Marketing

Dr. Vurain Tabvuma, Sobey

Professorship in Management

Dr. Michael Zhang, Sobey

Professorship in Finance, Information Systems and Management Science