In late 2001, Dean George Daly announced that he would step down as Dean in August 2002 after a highly productive and eventful nine-year tenure. But Daly won’t be leaving campus. He will remain in his post for a transition year, and continue to teach "Models of Leadership." In late January, he spoke with Joanne Hvala, Associate Dean of Public Affairs at Stern, about his tenure, his legacy, and his plans for the future.

Joanne Hvala: Your predecessor, Dean Dick West, had the vision to combine the graduate and undergraduate business schools at the Washington Square campus. How has that decision affected the growth and development of Stern in the subsequent nine years?

George Daly: The move to the Square has been a huge plus for Stern. It has placed the entire School in the heart of a truly unique neighborhood, Greenwich Village; it has united us with other parts of the University, leading to many productive collaborations; it has given us a much stronger sense of place and community; it has provided us with a physical facility that is one of the best in the country. It’s hard to imagine that we could have made the progress we have had we remained in the old location.

JH: How does the school’s location in New York City affect the learning process?

GD: The first years of my Deanship involved instituting and imitating best practices of the very best institutions. By the late nineties it was becoming evident that, while that strategy had yielded great returns, we had reached "state of the art" in most areas and that further progress would require that we increasingly distinguish ourselves from other leading schools rather than imitating them. The purpose of the Strategic Plan was to produce a blueprint for that task.

JH: In 2000 you initiated a comprehensive Strategic Planning process that brought together all the School’s major stakeholders. What are the results to date?

GD: The plan has three major themes: using New York City as a unique and rich educational resource; universal excellence in all that we do; and a culture that demands excellence and innovation. I think the early returns are most promising. We are using the city in new and remarkable ways – like when our entire first year class spent a day at the Metropolitan Opera learning about the complexity of its operations. Every one of our academic departments has been strengthened. Most important, I think that we have instituted processes and instilled beliefs in our faculty, staff and students that will continue to propel us forward.

JH: How have Stern students changed in the last decade?

GD: They‘ve changed in two principal ways. First, people like Associate Dean Mary Miller and Director of Admissions Julia Min were able to recruit some of the best and brightest MBA students. Vice Dean and Dean of Undergraduate School of Business Fred Choi has also recruited some of the best undergraduates in the world to Stern. The growth in test scores was simply phenomenal. Even more important, though, they instilled in those students a deep sense of pride and commitment.

JH: The Stern School has many outstanding faculty members, who are especially strong in research. What advantages does this research strength bring to the education process?

GD: The fundamental premise of a research university is that research and teaching are complementary activities. I deeply believe in this premise. Good research is useful in its own right because it keeps a faculty member and his or her students on the cutting edge. But it also signals qualities of mind that are very important to the long run success of a professor – the ability to assimilate, translate and build on the ideas of others.

JH: One of your important initiatives was establishing an executive education program. Why did you take that step?

GD: First, Stern is located in the center of the world’s largest executive education market. Frankly, it would seem rather odd if we didn’t play a leading role in this market. Second, executive education puts us in constant contact with leading executives and firms. This is an influential constituency that can serve as a "relevance check" for us as well as one with which we can engage in a learning process that is mutually beneficial and supportive.

JH: Stern prides itself on having a very international student body and faculty. How does that contribute to the educational process?

GD: Stern was a pioneer in international education long before it became fashionable. This was the result of some pioneering efforts by some exceptional faculty members as well as the School’s location in one of the world’s great cities. As we have progressed, I think we have learned that the greater the variety of nations and cultures represented in our faculty and student body, the more enriching the educational experience. So we work hard to recruit the best students from around the world and expose them to some exceptional experiences in our School and city and, most important, to each other.

JH: One of your principal accomplishments has been to boost the amount of private gifts to the School so that the amount raised in the last 10 years surpasses what was raised in the School’s previous 90-year history. What have those resources enabled Stern to achieve?

GD: The progress we have made over the last decade simply would not have been possible without the great financial support we have received. What did it make possible? The move to the Square, the recruitment of so many terrific students, faculty and staff, the initiation of some wonderful and innovative programs, the great expansion in the quality of our facilities and technology. We are competing with very different set of schools than we were a decade ago. This would not have been possible without our private financial support.

JH: What do you see as the major challenges facing business education today?

GD: Education at top business schools has become very expensive. This will encourage other institutions to enter this marketplace and students to seek alternative paths to the relevant skills and expertise. Schools that want to remain at the top will have to seek constant improvement in all of the fundamental dimensions of what they do. Only in this way can they assure the validity of their "value proposition." Universities are more tradition- bound than most other institutions. Somehow, we must seek a sensible compromise between some of these traditions and the needs of an ever more demanding and competitive marketplace.

JH: As you reflect on your tenure as Dean of the Stern School of Business, what are you most proud of?

GD: I’m most proud of the people who I have gotten involved in the School, whether as faculty, students, staff, Overseers, or alumni, and the pride and commitment these people feel about the institution. They are the ones who have propelled the School on its current trajectory and they are the ones who will take it to the very top.

JH: You have dedicated the last nine years to moving Stern forward by every measure. How will you continue to work for the advancement of Stern?

GD: I haven’t plotted my future in detail but I’d be astonished if it didn’t include a strong affiliation with Stern – as a teacher, (relatively young) elder statesman, cheerleader, fundraiser and contributor. I may do some other things as well but I expect New York and Stern to be part of my life for the rest of my life