Seton Hill Funding for Business Programs, Appoints Director of MBA Program and Names Chair of Advisory Board
Through the creation of The Farrell Programs for Innovation in Business, Seton Hill will help students develop the entrepreneurial skills needed to compete in a rapidly changing world by integrating entrepreneurship, grounded in the liberal arts, into all levels of the University’s business and management programs.
According to Seton Hill University President, Dr. JoAnne Boyle, “The Farrell gift reinforces Seton Hill’s ability to recruit and to graduate students who have an entrepreneurial mindset and possess the liberal arts skills employers tell us they are looking for, including flexibility, leadership, problem-solving, and communication.”
Michael J. Farrell, president of The Farrell Family Foundation, commented: “Our family foundation is delighted to support Seton Hill. The University’s administration, faculty and staff use an entrepreneurial approach to education that values the importance of traditional business faculty as well as senior corporate experts in providing the best education possible to students. This approach encourages students to become thoughtful risk takers and to operate as visionaries and opinion leaders in their fields of expertise,” according to Farrell. He added, “I am especially pleased to Chair the Advisory Board for the Farrell Programs and look forward to working with members of the Board to promote Seton Hill’s offerings and provide networking and mentoring opportunities for students.”
In addition to his role as president of The Farrell Family Foundation, Farrell is currently the president of Farrell & Co., a merchant banking firm specializing in heavy manufacturing companies. He serves as chief executive officer of Standard Steel, LLC. as well. He has also served in executive capacities for MK Rail Corporation, Motor Coils Manufacturing Co. and Season-All Industries. Farrell is a Certified Public Accountant.
Dr. Lloyd G. Gibson earned his MBA at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where he specialized in finance, public management and accounting, and his Doctor of Science in Information Systems and Communications from Robert Morris University.
Prior to joining the Seton Hill University faculty, Dr. Gibson had an extensive career in banking with a focus on conducting financial turnarounds while maintaining market leadership. Most recently, Gibson served as president, chief executive officer and director for New Asia Bank, a Chinese American Bank, in Chicago, Illinois where he led the Bank’s restructuring and reduced costs to return the Bank to profitability. Gibson’s banking career is marked by his commitments to working with entrepreneurs and business owners to promote the growth of small- and medium-size businesses, to providing high quality customer service, to promoting community development, and to initiating substantive training and development initiatives for employees.
“Seton Hill has an excellent reputation for teaching the importance of entrepreneurial thinking and developing in students the value of creating jobs rather than simply taking them,” according to Dr. Mary Ann Gawelek, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Seton Hill. “The Farrell Programs for Innovation in Business are a natural next step for us and Dr. Gibson represents well the problem-solving mindset we seek to develop in Seton Hill students,” adding that “Dr. Gibson’s business acumen and attention to detail will help him manage the full integration of innovation and entrepreneurship to Seton Hill’s business and management programs, and his familiarity with Asian banking will be of critical assistance to us as we move forward with our partnerships in China leading to joint MBA degrees.”
Gibson says that he is pleased to join Seton Hill at such an exciting time. “Seton Hill’s idea that entrepreneurial thinking and behavior ought to permeate the liberal arts promotes innovative thinking in all areas of study at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Our MBA specializations in management and entrepreneurship are distinctive, and plans are currently underway for a new specialization in healthcare. I look forward to working with Mike Farrell, who will Chair the Farrell Advisory Board, the faculty and the community-at-large to keep the format and delivery of our programs dynamic.”
Dr. Gibson serves on the boards of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation and as a member of its Preservation and Revitalization Committee. He has served in leadership volunteer capacities for the Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, the American Heart Association Heart Walk, the Allegheny County United Way, the Fox Chapel Area High School Choral Parents and Site-Based Management Team, and the Jefferson County Economic Development Council.
Seton Hill University, founded by the Sisters of Charity, is a coeducational Catholic liberal arts university in Greensburg, Pa. Chartered in 1918, Seton Hill offers more than 30 undergraduate programs and nine graduate programs, including an MBA with specializations in management and entrepreneurship. Seton Hill brings the world to its students through its distinguished lecturers and nationally and internationally renowned centers. Recognized three times by Entrepreneur magazine as one of the nation’s Top 100 Entrepreneurial Universities, Seton Hill has also been named one of the Best in the Northeast by The Princeton Review and one of Pennsylvania’s Top 100 Businesses by Pennsylvania Business Central. In addition, Seton Hill has been named a University of Distinction by Colleges of Distinction, an organization founded by a group of concerned parents, educators and admissions professionals. For more information on Seton Hill please visit www.setonhill.edu or call 1-800-826-6234.
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Media contact:
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