New College of Business Administration dean wants to focus on students
Christopher Moberg meets with student ambassadors of the College of Business Administration in Grawn Hall.
The new College of Business Administration Dean Chris Moberg wants to ensure a student-centered approach to business education.
Moberg plans on forming long-term relationships with students from the time they are being recruited to long after they graduate.
“I feel so lucky. I love my profession. I love being in higher education," CBA dean Chris Moberg said. "And I feel very honored to be entrusted with being the next business school dean."
During the workweek students can find Moberg in his office in Grawn Hall. On the weekends Moberg likes to attend live concerts and watch every CMU sport he can.
“I think it’s important for students to know that people like President Davies or Dean Moberg are people too,” Moberg said. “On some level we need to be professional but breaking down those barriers is what’s important.”
Moberg is the product of a search that began in Sept. 2018. The search committee was chaired by Vice President of Advancement Robert Martin and staffed by other CMU faculty or donors. Moberg was hired in May 2019 and had his first day on the job July 15.
Moberg began his college career at University of New Mexico while his family lived in Ohio. Being left alone in Albuquerque would cause his rapid maturation and understanding of personal finance, he said.
During a one-year master's program at Miami University in Ohio, a professor visited one of his classes and offered an opportunity for students to teach an introductory marketing course. After an extensive interview process Moberg was offered the job.
At 22, Moberg had obtained a master’s degree and was teaching 19-year-olds introductory marketing. This is when he caught the bug for mentoring students and redirected his path towards becoming a professor.
“I did the instructor job for a year, and even though I loved it, I knew I needed real experience in the field before I could become a professor.” he said.
In his third year of a doctoral program at Cleveland State University, Moberg was offered to return to Miami University, where he had done his first teaching job, as a visiting instructor. With a newborn son on the way and the prospect of financial stability, Moberg happily accepted.
“That was a really transformative time,” Moberg said. “The department treated me like an equal even though I was a visiting instructor. I got a lot of my values as an educator there.”
With recommendation from his friend and mentor, Moberg scored an interview with Ohio University’s College of Business, where he began 20 years of rising through the ranks. First as professor of marketing, then to a department chair, and finally to associate dean.
