School of Business

Faculty from the FC Manning School of Business, Acadia University recently attended the Atlantic Schools of Business Conference (ASB 2023), hosted this year at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax from September 22-24, 2023. The conference theme was "Connecting" and was attended by a record number of delegates (over 130) and featured more than 80 paper presentations and numerous panels and professional development workshops. ASB has a long-standing tradition of being a friendly and developmental conference, in addition to an important nexus of scholarly discourse and collaboration, shaping research, teaching and service.

This year, Acadia University took home both prestigious conference awards, including the Research Excellence Award, which recognizes the breadth and scope of scholarship presented by a specific university, and the Best Paper Award, given to Dr. Kristin Williams, for her paper entitled "Understanding Youth Empowerment: A Youth Participatory Action Research Approach".

ASB also featured important conversations on emerging hot topics, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), which is having a profound impact on the way we organize, view work, and conduct higher education in business schools. Panelists included Dr. Terry Weatherbee and Dr. Donna Sears. Acadia was well represented at the conference this year across all streams including Accounting, Ethics & Social Issues, Management Education, Entrepreneurship, Business and Organizational History, Cases, Marketing, Gender and Diversity, and Tourism. Dr. Ryan MacNeil chaired the Entrepreneurship track, Dr. Kelly Dye chaired Gender and Diversity, Dr. Yinglei Wang chaired Management and Information Systems, Dr. Conor Vibert chaired Cases and Cases in Progress, and Dr. Terry Weatherbee chaired Business and Organizational History.

Kirsten Lawrence and Dr. Kristin Williams participated in a panel at ASB discussing the future of management education

Acadia also took part in an Atlantic meeting of the Deans and Directors and a corresponding panel discussion about the future of Management Education. Star student, Kirsten Lawrence, accompanied new Director, Dr. Kristin Williams, on the panel with other deans and directors and brilliantly represented the perspective of business students. Our students also excelled in the case competition under the mentorship of Professor Ashley Doyle.

Additionally, the conference featured a poignant tribute to Dr. Albert J. Mills, Professor Emeritus at Saint Mary’s University, a mentor and friend to many faculty at the FC Manning School of Business.