Kristen Eichhorn to guide College of Business and Entrepreneurship into the future
By Stefan Yablonski
Photo by Chuck Wainwright
Kristen Campbell Eichhorn is a busy lady — torn between Culkin and Rich halls.
Culkin Hall, where she is originally based, is home to the college’s administrative offices. She is getting accustomed to spending more time at Rich Hall, home to the Business School.
Eichhorn, dean of graduate studies at SUNY Oswego, assumed an additional leadership role — interim dean of the School of Business, effective July 1. On that date, the school formally became the College of Business and Entrepreneurship.
The renaming preserves the identity of well-regarded, accredited business programs, known for strong alignment with industry needs, global perspectives and a focus on preparing students for leadership roles. It also acknowledges a commitment to innovation and enterprise, as entrepreneurship becomes an increasingly important part of a nimble and responsive economic ecosystem.
To keep pace with a rapidly evolving business world, programs in the College of Business and Entrepreneurship integrate classroom learning with advanced computer applications and various forms of applied education, such as case studies, simulations, group projects and internships, Eichhorn explained.
Nationally accredited by AACSB International — the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business — the college offers seven undergraduate majors and an MBA program as well as three unique five-year combined bachelor’s and MBA degree programs, one in accounting, one in broadcasting and mass communication and one in psychology.
Toddling
Eichhorn will rely on a new team to accomplish her goals as she keeps her title as dean of graduate studies at SUNY Oswego.
“An associate dean in graduate studies was elevated. She is taking on a little bit more responsibility to free me up to be over here in Rich Hall. I’m toddling on both sides of campus,” Eichhorn said with a laugh. “It’s challenging, but you know what? We have a solid team and an associate dean who is absolutely spectacular. So we’ve elevated her to a title of deputy dean.”
Eichhorn refers to Rebecca Mushtare, a professor of interaction design at SUNY Oswego.
The provost called her ‘deputy dean.’ Mushtare’s been taking over a lot of the responsibilities in graduate studies so that Eichhorn is freed up to lead the College of Business and Entrepreneurship.
“I actually did give her a little badge that says “deputy’ on it. She is highly talented. I said basically I could really only do this because of her. She is taking on some of the more leadership things. I go check in with her twice a week,” Eichhorn said.
Kristin Lee Sotak is the associate dean of the College of Business and Entrepreneurship and an associate professor of management.
She also serves as the interim ORCA (Student Office of Research and Creative Activities) director on campus, where she manages student grants and coordinates scholarly and creative events, such as QUEST.
“She has been pivotal in getting me up to speed,” Eichhorn said. “So between those two women it’s been quite a pleasure to get to know folks in the College of Business and Entrepreneurship. I am very, very grateful for those two women.”
They have been discussing on how to make sure the students’ experience remains very relevant, she said.
“It has been fun thinking it through with faculty and getting to know what their passions are. It’s really been fun. In all honesty, it has been such a pleasure to get to know this group of people. What an amazing gift they bring to the institution,” she said. “One of the reasons that I am there is to kind of shine a light on all the gems and elevate their presence.”
Moving forward
Things seem to be in a good position for Eichhorn to be able to come over to Rich Hall.
“At this time we have a couple new things happening. We have a name change — we are the College of Business and Entrepreneurship,” she said. “We are going to be thinking about our identity as a school and what it means to have entrepreneurship as part of the name of our college.”
It’s been really fun to get to know the faculty on a different level and get to know how they are identifying with the word entrepreneurship, she added.
“I am trying to think of a visual to put together about that. It is an interesting approach because often when faculty thinks of a name they associate it with like a major that we are delivering,” she said. “We don’t have an entrepreneurship major; but we do have an entrepreneurship minor.
“There is so much more than just curriculum. And so for me, what’s been fun to learn about what’s different is over here in Rich Hall.”
The faculty has really been thoughtful about the way that they develop the curriculum in coordination with what is happening outside of the classroom, she added.
“The way that I see it is, as an outsider, the way I make sense of it, is that you have your curriculum … the college not only offers the major but they are constantly developing minors. So what that says to me as an outsider is ‘yeah we have our core, but we continue to supplement it with options and opportunities for you to engage in a deeper level in a particular sub area,’” she said.
The college has a lot of minors. So that means they find it important to have a business admin generalist degree as an undergraduate, she explained.
“We don’t want you leaving here without feeling like you also have a focus that’s going to help you go out into the world and be able to apply for a job,” she added.
SUNY Oswego is trying to create experiences for students that practice the things that they are learning about in the classroom.
In the class they have ‘pitch competitions’ where students pitch ideas for new businesses. Students get paired up with alumni to help those businesses come to light. There is a sales triathlon; the Investment Club where they invest real money and the Real Estate Club buys property — it’s all run by students, managed by students.
“It’s kind of like a sandbox for them to play in. It’s real money and real things that they are doing — but it’s a place to learn,” Eichhorn said. “The café in Rich Hall is such a gem. You walk in, you see the café it is student-run, student-organized — but there is a course that is tied to it.”
Students in SUNY Oswego’s Management 444 class operate the Rich N’ Pour Cafe in the Rich Hall lobby.
“It’s those sorts of things that I feel is impressive coming in from the outside. In higher education when you think about, looking at it from a broader lens, who are we in higher education if we are not creating unique experiences for our students,” she said. “What makes a comprehensive college, which is embedded in a community and a residential campus at that, different is that you take that curriculum and you create these experiences that you can only get at SUNY Oswego. If you are creating unique experiences I think that people are drawn to come here. It’s nice to be a part of the SUNY system and that our students can reap the benefits of all those connections. I think it is going to be a fun year.”
Kristen Eichhorn, a Golf Mom
Kristen Eichhorn earned her bachelor’s degree from Canisius College, her master’s degree from West Virginia University and her doctorate from the University of Miami.
“I am originally from Buffalo. I grew up in Lockport. I lived between routes 104 and 31 in Webster,” she said. “My first professorship was in Baltimore. I lived and taught there. And then I interviewed for the job up here — I arrived here in 2007.”
She now lives in Baldwinsville.
“I was in Baltimore and I met some people from Oswego at a conference. They talked very highly of the school, it was very student-centered,” she recalled. “They were interested in doing a graduate program; I was running a graduate program. They asked me to come up for an interview. I had some college roommates that had settled in this area and they were supper excited about me coming up here. My husband and I are originally from Buffalo. So coming back to New York was kind of like coming back home. I grew up on a Great Lake and this is a Great Lake community … it made a lot of sense for me.”
When she’s not on campus you might catch her on a golf course.
“I’m into golf. I get out in nature and fresh air find that refreshing. I probably just got into it four or five years ago seriously,” she said. “I have one son, he is now 13. I realized this is the one thing that we can do forever, just play golf. It’s like how do you bond with a 13-year-old? It’s tough for me to do something like basketball. But golf I’m like we can share a cart that is when we have our best conversations. It’s just the three of us. We actually moved to a golf community and so my husband is now into it.”
Her husband, Eric Eichhorn, is a senior software engineer manager at SRC.
“There are soccer moms, hockey moms — and here we are driving around in a golf cart. It’s so civilized. It’s really calm and peaceful,” she said. “My son, William Eichhorn, loves golf, that’s why we actually entertained moving to a golf community because he got super into it.” He is an avid golfer at Timberbanks.”
As the new school year begins, Eichhorn is enjoying one of her favorite times of year.
“I love the fall. It’s got the hot sun, but the cool air. It allows you to be pretty active outside. The state of New York offers a lot of great outdoor activities, everything from hiking to fall golf,” she said. “It’s just a beautiful landscape in Central New York and being on the Great Lake – I think it’s a wonderful place to live!”
Eichhorn is the coauthor of two editions of the well-regarded book, “Interpersonal Communication: Building Rewarding Relationships” (with Candice Thomas-Maddox and Melissa Bekelja Wanzer). Most recently she edited the newest edition of the well-established book, “An Integrated Approach to Communication Theory and Research” (with Don W. Stacks).
She currently is on the executive boards for ACE’s Council of Fellows, New York Sea Grant and Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools.
