Scott A. Beaulier
Dean for the College of Business at North Dakota State University (NDSU)
Scott Beaulier serves as the Ronald & Kaye Olson Dean of Business at North Dakota State University (NDSU). Dean Beaulier has extensive experience in higher education leadership, and his impact at NDSU has been significant since beginning his tenure in 2016.
In just a few years, Dean Beaulier has led the undergraduate College of Business program to achieve many historic successes:
- Overall students served by the College of Business has increased by more than 20% since Dean Beaulier’s arrival in 2016;
- The quality and impact of peer-reviewed research (as measured by standard journal impact metrics) has increased significantly; and
- The number of guest speakers, industry partnerships, and events happening in the College’s downtown business building have been steadily rising throughout Dean Beaulier’s tenure.
Dean Beaulier has spearheaded restructuring of NDSU’s MBA program to fit the needs of students and employers. First, the MBA program has been reinvented so that students can complete courses in eight weeks instead of 16; they can start anytime; and some classes are available online. The adjustments make earning an MBA more accessible to tomorrow’s business leaders, who are often working while going to school.
Second, the MBA program now offers several graduate certificate options in areas identified by industry leaders as spots where their workforce faces significant gaps including data analytics, digital marketing, investments and applied portfolio management and leadership. This stackable certificate model better meets the needs of students and the current market conditions.
Dean Beaulier has proven that modernizing the structure of an academic program to accommodate today’s student body can be done while enhancing quality. He has set higher standards for research, recruited top research professors, and directed the launch of Challey Institute for Global Innovation and Growth to study global innovation, trade and economic growth — issues that business leaders in the Midwest must be equipped to address as our economy continues to become more integrated with markets across the globe.
NDSU’s College of Business is one of just a few research-focused business schools nationwide that consistently rank high on “most affordable” lists, including GreatValueColleges.net and AffordableSchools.net. Dean Beaulier firmly believes business programs can and should deliver students a top-notch education that includes cutting-edge research, and still promise affordability.
The quality of NDSU’s College of Business graduate and undergraduate programs is evidenced by students’ success in the job market. The best Finance students go on to work at companies in major cities in the Midwest including Minneapolis, Denver, and Chicago — some firms recruit 25-30% of their talent from NDSU and the College. And, the College of Business’ supply chain researchers are nationally ranked and recognized.
Changes to the College of Business have caught the attention of generous donors. Over the past three years, the University’s comprehensive capital campaign has resulted in more than $200 million in gifts and commitments to NDSU, and $50 million of that $200 million total has come from NDSU’s College of Business.
Prior to joining NDSU, Dean Beaulier served as Executive Director at the Center for the Study of Economic Liberty in the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. From 2010 to 2015, Dean Beaulier served as Executive Director of the Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political Economy at Troy University. Under his leadership, the Johnson Center grew into a robust academic center: In just three years, Dean Beaulier recruited seven top-notch Ph.D. economists to campus and expanded the program offerings to include both a major and a Master of Arts in economics.
In addition to leading the Johnson Center, Dean Beaulier served as Chair of the Division of Economics and Finance at Troy University and, earlier in his career at Mercer University, was the BB&T Distinguished Professor of Capitalism, Chair of the Economics Department, and Director of the Center for Undergraduate Research in Public Policy & Capitalism.
Dean Beaulier earned an undergraduate degree from Northern Michigan University and a Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University.