Dr. T. Grandon Gill, Professor at the University of South Florida, USA, has extensive experience in case method research, as well as in writing cases for classroom use and facilitating case discussions. His MBA and DBA are both from Harvard Business School, where the case method originated. He is author of the book Informing with the Case Method (2011, Informing Science Press) and recently became the founding editor of Journal of Information Technology Education: Discussion Cases, a publication outlet for case studies in the MIS, IT and informing science fields. Interested participants will be encouraged to remain in touch with the facilitator for possible participation in future grant initiatives and workshops.

In recent years, many concerns have be raised regarding the value of business school education. Among the most notable:

       •   Inability to combat ethical lapses in our students and alumni
       •   Questions about the relationship between business education and career success
       •   Lack of expected skills from our graduates
       •   Declines in the return on investment of a business school education
       •   Apparent failure of our research to diffuse to practice
       •   Inability of our research findings to replicate

Many of the issues raised have more validity than many of us involved in business education care to acknowledge. Indeed, it sometimes seems as if our many of our educational and research activities are being conducted entirely without regard to their impact on the very employers who ultimately foot the bill for our institution by employing our students (and the parents/taxpayers who provide our revenue).

Over the past three years, the College of Business at the University of South Florida (USF COB) has launched a series of initiatives to enhance its impact. Five are to be considered in the plenary session:

1. Practice Centers: A program in which students, under the direction of a faculty advisor, are hired by local companies to complete a specific project over the course of a semester.
2. Adoption of inter-disciplinary areas of focus: In order to provide a sense of focus to its research activities, USF has adopted Business Analytics and Creativity/Innovation as two areas of emphasis. Of particular note, major efforts have been made to ensure broad involvement in these initiatives across all business functions.
3. Cybersecurity Initiative: The USF COB has taken the leadership role in a partnership with three other colleges (Engineering, Community and Behavioral Sciences, and the School of Information) to develop a cybersecurity master’s program and a center for cybersecurity.
4. Case development initiative: Whereas the development and use of case studies in the classroom has traditionally not been viewed as a research activity, the USF COB has begun to actively support and encourage these activities.
5. Professional Doctorate: Starting in July 2014, the USF COB will begin offering a research focused doctorate aimed at working executives.

After summarizing the specific programs, they are analyzed with respect to their observed and potential roles in:

       •   Building bridges between research and practice
       •   Breaking down silos between functional areas within the college and across colleges within the broader institution
       •   Creating informing flows that link practice, researcher and students in a manner that maximizes impact.

As part of the analysis, the argument is presented that when dealing with real world phenomena, such approaches are a prerequisite to effective informing and the Holy Grail of impactful research."