Business education at St. John's University: an interview with Richard A. Highfield, dean, the Peter J. Tobin College of Business.

Founded in 1870 by the Vincentian Community, St. John's University is one of America's leading Catholic universities. The Peter J. Tobin College of Business has been an integral part of St. John's University for more than 75 years. With a global network of over 34,000 alumni, the College offers business leaders a strong foundation in management education focused on developing individuals for the world's most senior corporate positions. The importance attached to practical business knowledge, technology, the special ethical challenges of contemporary business practice, and globalization, enables the College to offer unique opportunities for students who are committed to excellence. The College was, in fact, among the first American business schools to establish a campus abroad--in Rome, Italy. With 100 full-time faculty members, the College currently serves a student body consisting of approximately 2,200 undergraduates and 700 graduate students throughout its campuses in historic Queens, the financial district of Manhattan, Staten Island, Eastern Long Island, and its Graduate Center in Rome. The Tobin College is fully accredited by AACSB International--The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, and it offers B.S., M.B.A., M.S. and APC degree programs in a wide variety of business fields. Programs include Accounting, Actuarial Science, Computer Information Systems, Decision Sciences, Economics, Finance, International Business, Management, Management Information Systems, Marketing, Risk Management & Insurance, and Taxation.

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Richard A. Highfield became dean of the Peter J. Tobin College of Business at St. John's University on September 2, 2003 and currently resides in Manhattan. He was formerly dean of the University at Albany School of Business, SUNY for four years, associate dean at Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management, and had been on the Cornell faculty since 1985. A graduate of Stanford University, Dean Highfield holds a MBA degree from Santa Clara University and a Ph.D. in econometrics and economics from the University of Chicago. His academic research has been in the areas of monetary economics and business forecasting. He has served on the executive board of the MBA Enterprise Corps, which placed MBA graduates in Peace-Corps-like assignments in locally controlled businesses in emerging market economies, and also on the board of Student Agencies, Inc. of Ithaca, NY, the country's oldest student-run corporation. Most recently he served on the board of Junior Achievement of Northeastern New York, the executive board of the Capital Region Chapter of the American Marketing Association, and sang tenor with Albany Pro Musica. Dean Highfield was the host of the weekly television show "Business Matters" on WRGB, Channel 6, Schenectady, NY from September 2001 through July 2003.