Franciscan University Names JoAnn Sciarrino New MBA Program Director

STEUBENVILLE, OHIO-Franciscan University of Steubenville announced the appointment of JoAnn Sciarrino as professor of marketing and new director of the MBA Program. Sciarrino will lead the implementation of Franciscan's newly envisioned MBA that will more deeply integrate business acumen, analytical thinking, creativity, and leadership with Catholic principles and Franciscan values.

Former Jim and Mary Pat Nelson Chair in Business-to-Business Analytics and co-director of the Nelson Center for Brand and Demand Analytics at The University of Texas at Austin, Sciarrino is an accomplished advertising and marketing scholar and practitioner with research interests in digital marketing, analytics, and brand attachment. The author of more than 30 peer-reviewed articles on marketing and advertising effectiveness and several book chapters and books, she received the University of North Carolina Tanner Award in 2016 for excellence in inspirational teaching. Prior to her academic career, Sciarrino served as executive vice president for BBDO North America for 12 years, where she provided research, analytics, and modelling solutions for more than 30 global brands, including AT&T, Starbucks, Hyatt, FedEx, and L'Oréal.

"I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to work with the outstanding Franciscan University faculty, staff, alumni, and advisors to build on the MBA Program's foundation of excellence," said Sciarrino. "Since its founding, Franciscan University has helped students grow in faith, wisdom, maturity, excellence, and dedication to others. These values are needed more than ever in business today. Franciscan is in a unique position to educate and form faith-filled, virtuous business leaders committed to advancing the common good and building a better world."

"I am grateful Professor Sciarrino is joining us to lead our efforts to enhance our MBA Program," said Douglas Perry, chairman of the Department of Accounting, Business Administration, and Economics. "She is an outstanding scholar and practitioner with a proven record of building best-in-class graduate business programs."

Perry said he is "excited for this next phase of our MBA Program. This will allow us to form and equip the next generation of virtuous Catholic business leaders with an MBA designed to meet today's many challenges and rebuild the Church through the pursuit of excellence."

Under Sciarrino, the re-envisioned online MBA will prepare virtuous leaders in business to combat the emergent lack of meaning and purpose in secular culture. Unlike other MBA programs, which prioritize expanding markets at all costs, the new program will combine cutting-edge business courses with experiential, immersive learning to cultivate excellence in virtuous leadership and the pursuit of personal holiness. This approach equips students with optimal decision-making skills guided by Catholic social teachings concerning human dignity, the common good, subsidiarity, and solidarity. While secular MBAs seek to prepare students for a profession, Franciscan's program will place an even greater emphasis on forming students in their God-given vocation to sanctify the temporal order.

"The School of Professional Programs is committed to helping students learn about contemporary practices relevant to their chosen discipline, while grounding those practices and theories in the Catholic intellectual tradition that honors the dignity of every person and illuminates the marks of a good and just society," said Dr. Christin Jungers, dean of the School of Professional Programs. "The enhancements in the MBA Program will be an excellent example of how our faculty put this commitment into practice in an ongoing and continuous way."

Franciscan's MBA courses are taught in eight-week sessions, starting in January, March, May, July, August, and October. The online instruction model gives students a high degree of flexibility, making it possible to engage with course content and complete assignments while also maintaining responsibilities professionally and personally.

The Franciscan MBA Program can be completed online in one year. Options include completing an essential MBA degree (30 credits); an MBA with a concentration in either finance, leadership, or marketing (36 credits); or an MBA with two concentrations (42 credits).

To learn more about Franciscan University's MBA Program, please visit franciscan.edu/mba.

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