Yesterday (Tuesday 7 January 2025), Professor Laura Costanzo and Professor Jo Swaffield announced a repositioning of the Southampton Business School (SBS).
This development follows a recent report led by the Senior Vice-President (Academic) on the positioning of the Business School and the steps needed to ensure the school is ready to continue its progress to be amongst the very best in the world.
While the School will remain within the Faculty of Social Sciences, the agreed changes will provide the School with a considerably greater level of autonomy that is consistent with Business Schools at most of our peer universities.
Key changes include:
- The Head of the Business School becoming known as Dean of the Southampton Business School
- Greater control over Business School operations
- A distinctive brand identity.
Professor Laura Costanzo, Dean of Southampton Business School, commented:
“I am thrilled to announce this exciting institutional development – building a stronger business school is good news for both the school and the University.
“Over the coming weeks and months I will be meeting with internal stakeholders to discuss the approach in more detail. I look forward to collaborating with many colleagues in the university as we implement these changes, some of which will happen gradually, and to continue building on the remarkable strides we have taken in recent years.”
Professor Jo Swaffield, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences commented:
“I am delighted about this exciting opportunity for us to further advance our Business School. Laura and I are grateful to our Vice-Chancellor, Senior Vice-President (Academic) and University Executive Board for their support – support which builds on the relocation of the Business School to B175 in Spring 2024. I look forward to working with Laura in her new role as Dean of the Business School and the wider SBS leadership team to embrace this opportunity for further development of our Business School over the coming years.”