I am delighted to announce that after this academic year I will join the faculty of the University of Washington Bothell (UWB). Maggie and I will move to Seattle some time this summer.
UWB is launching an international business program in Bellevue this fall. UWB already offers technology-focused and leadership-focused MBA programs; those have recently earned national recognition. I am happy that my new colleagues think my background will be helpful as they continue to grow.
UWB’s Bellevue site is less than two miles from Microsoft’s campus. Many bio-tech companies are also in the area. Thus I’m excited that this new job will tap both my China background and my fascination with the IT sector and other cutting-edge industries. It just feels like a great fit.
Although we are positively grieving about the prospect of selling our house in Spokane (or at least I am; Maggie says she is tired of so much yard work), for the longer term Seattle is attractive. Maggie and I will enjoy being around more Chinese speakers and more authentic Chinese restaurants, plus Seattle has lots of people doing China-focused research. The University of Washington has amazing strength in Asian Studies; the law library itself has a great collection of Chinese materials. I am looking forward to tapping into all that.
Spokane has been good for us in many ways. Our son Henry was born here, coming home from the hospital on Thanksgiving Day 2008. My colleagues at Whitworth have lavished us with kindness over these years; they are good people, and I have truly enjoyed getting to know them. Maggie will soon be a Whitworth alumna, having supplemented her PRC degree to launch a career in accounting. Other fond memories include my recent Jan. term trip to China with 26 students. I also enjoyed developing and teaching a course on the global financial crisis and its aftermath, a seminar that has now gone through three iterations. I was also honored to help create Whitworth’s Asian Studies minor program. Spokane’s glorious summers have been such a pleasure, too—for an Alabama native who’s lived in several other muggy climates (Chicago, St. Louis, New York City, DC, Beijing), the whole “no AC required” thing still utterly delights me. Having moved to Spokane from Beijing, I have also loved the area’s pristine skies and gorgeous natural surroundings. We’ve enjoyed seeing wildlife in the front yard and all the beauty that engulfs one just minutes from campus. I’ve also had many, many wonderful conversations with Whitworth faculty members and students over these years, and I look forward to staying in touch with so many of them (we didn’t know anyone in Spokane when we moved here, but because many Whitworth students come from Seattle we feel that we already have friends there).
Though I am leaving, I want to make clear that I am optimistic about the future of business ed. at Whitworth over the longer term. Whitworth has named as its next president the current dean of an AACSB-accredited business school. That is extremely encouraging (he’s from my alma mater in Alabama to boot!). I imagine that this new president will “get it” in ways that will be very helpful to Whitworth’s School of Global Commerce & Management (SGCM) at a macro level. With this new top leadership, plus a new dean coming to SGCM, plus a great new hire in finance, SGCM could be on the verge of something truly positive. Plus, there are already some real strengths to build upon as Whitworth seeks to create an even better program.
Institutions by definition transcend any individual—especially an individual at my humble level, and Whitworth will survive even the retirement of Bill Robinson, its exceedingly popular president. All this turnover actually gives Whitworth and SGCM wonderful opportunities to move forward in positive ways. I will be cheering them on, and I depart with thanks for all the blessings of the last three years.
Having now taught at both a large, public university and at a small, private college, I think at UWB I may have found a personal “Golidlocks optimality,” a just-right-for-me golden mean. UWB is a branch of one of the world’s leading research universities, yet it is not too big itself. It is innovative and entrepreneurial. It is located in a great, cosmopolitan city. I will be able to focus mainly on teaching (on the research-teaching continuum, up to this point in my career I have tipped more towards teaching than research), yet UWB offers an intellectually rich environment that fosters lots of high quality scholarly work. They have also professionalized rudimentary advising, which has always seemed to me like an obvious thing to do. . . . Other than giving up some pleasant things about my current gig, I keep wondering what’s not to like.
Again, I thank everyone at Whitworth for your kindness and support over the last three years, I also thank my new colleagues at UWB for your confidence in selecting me. I will endeavor to exceed all your expectations.