Dr. James W. Schmotter
President
Dr. James W. Schmotter became president of Western Connecticut State University on Aug. 1, 2004.
Schmotter has become involved in numerous campus- and community-wide initiatives since arriving at the university. He is enhancing the academic programs, supporting student-related services, overseeing the development of the university's master plan, and promoting advancement opportunities at the university.
Within weeks of his arrival, Schmotter established the Values and Vision Task Force. This 15-member group will hold a series of structured community dialogues with the university's stakeholders. On the campus, these meetings involve faculty, staff and students. Off-campus, similar sessions involve groups representing government, business, the arts, social services, K-12 education, alumni/ae, and others. Information gathered will be important in charting the university's exciting future.
Schmotter came to WestConn from Western Michigan University, where he served as dean of the Haworth College of Business for seven years. Prior to that, he served as Dean of the College of Business and Economics at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. In his 14 years at the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University, he served as associate dean and director of international studies, as well as teaching business history and international management.
Schmotter earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in History at Muskingum College in Ohio. He received his doctorate in Colonial American history at Northwestern University where he studied the evolution of the ministry in 18th-century New England. He also studied higher education administration at Columbia University.
Schmotter has consulted for a variety of organizations, including IBM, TRW, the Institute for International Education, the Cleveland Foundation, the Graduate Management Admission Council, the Educational Testing Service, United States Agency for International Development and a number of universities in the U.S., Asia and Europe. He is the author of numerous monographs, chapters, and articles in popular and scholarly publications on international business, business education, and business history, as well as several guidebooks to MBA programs. He has been frequently quoted in the press, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, USA Today, and the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Schmotter has served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Graduate Management Admission Council, was the founding Vice Chair of the board of the MBA Enterprise Corps, and has been a member of many committees of AACSB International: The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. He also has been active in local community groups in the towns he has served.
