Jane Wayland and a visitor appear in the lobby of the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center on the University of Arkansas at Little Rock campus. A young man at the front desk leaps to his feet, pleasantly startled to see Wayland. He greets her respectfully and remains standing until she good-naturedly urges him to retake his seat.
In 2012, Wayland blazed a trail by becoming the Stephen Harrow Smith Dean of Business -- the first woman dean of the university's College of Business. Since her appointment, she has blazed a path of innovation with one goal in mind -- to make sure students' efforts to gain a college education are rewarded with gainful employment.
"We're all about making sure our students are successful," Wayland says.
"We're a business school, right? That's what we care about ... getting them ready for that job that they want ... we need to have them ready," she says.
U.S. News and World Report ranked UALR's College of Business among the country's best business programs in 2011-2013. And in 2016, the college's master of business administration program was ranked No. 49 of the 50 most affordable MBA programs in the United States by TopManagementDegrees.com, with tuition and fees estimated at $13,727.
Feedback from college alumni is a testament to the success of that mission, Wayland adds. "They will say, nine times out of 10, that their experience at UALR was positive in the College of Business ... because they had faculty that assisted them." She credits faculty for going the extra mile to help students, especially busy, nontraditional students with jobs and families.
"Life happens, and our faculty understand that. But they also hold the line on academic quality. They don't give up their quality to help their students; they help their students hit the line," Wayland says.
She also credits her leadership team, which includes department chairmen and associate deans. "They tell me when I'm crazy; they tell me when I have a good idea, they bring good ideas to the table."
Andrew Rogerson, who's finishing his first year as UALR chancellor, says: "The college's consistent high national rankings and throughput of successful graduates exemplifies Dr. Wayland's commitment to providing relevant education to meet industry needs in the city and beyond."
AND SHE MEANS BUSINESS
Wayland has been busy leading the college the past five years. "We're not the same school we were," she says.
One for-instance: The college recently added an advising center.
"Our faculty are wonderful at career advice, but a professional adviser can help students transfer their crediting," she says. "I am a strong proponent of professional advisers." She was able to do some reorganization within the college and obtain funding to create the positions.
"That is the thing I'm most proud of, because I think it helps the students go from when they [first come] to us to degree completion without as many mistakes." Some students take classes they don't need, or their coursework is delayed because they didn't have the prerequisite classes.
The college now boasts a co-curriculum requirement for students called Career Catalyst. Students must complete two career-development badges in areas such as business ethics, high-impact learning experience and service learning.
Another major addition to the college has been the State Farm Business Skills Lab, sponsored by about a dozen State Farm agents. The lab helps students perfect their business presentations. The college has also benefited from a $50,000 initial pledge from US Bank for its Student Success Endowment. Earmarked for student needs during a given year, the endowment will be used for scholarships and travel expenses to business competitions, among other things.
"It's about serving ... Little Rock, the state, serving our students, giving them what they need, giving them what they don't know they need. That's our whole mission here," Wayland says. "And being at UA-Little Rock, I feel ... that we're just in a perfect place to be able to do that."
Wayland's road to Little Rock began in Wytheville, Va., where she was born. When she was 5, her family moved to historic Ellisville, Miss., in Jones County (the site of the true-story-turned movie, The Free State of Jones (the story of a white farmer who led a rebellion against the Confederacy during the Civil War). "I feel like I'm a Mississippi girl," Wayland says.
After high school, she left home to earn a marketing degree, followed by a master of business administration degree, from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. She eventually ended up in Texas, working as a sales representative.
"I called on real estate agents," she recounts. "And one of them said, 'Have you thought about teaching?' And I thought, 'No.'" But the seed was planted. She called the local community college, which happened to be Houston Community College.
"I guess they were desperate for teachers. And because I had a master's, they let me teach kind of a little adjunct class at night. And I fell in love with it." As a business instructor, "I think I really enjoyed watching the light bulb turn on and grabbing their attention."
Wayland left the community college for a full-time position at Houston Baptist University. She stayed there for two years before she realized she'd have to further her education if she "was going to continue to do that kind of stuff." She went to the University of North Texas in Denton for a marketing doctorate.
Considers herself
no different
She recalls being one of four women who, from 1985-89, went through the doctoral program -- a number that was "highly unusual" at the time, she says. She also taught at Virginia Commonwealth University and Eastern Illinois University, where she served as chairman of the business school. In 2007, she came to UALR as associate dean of the College of Business, then served a two-year stretch as interim dean before taking the helm in 2012.
Was Wayland conscious of being the first female dean? "I didn't think much about it, to be honest. I have been around business deans who are female," she says. "To me it's more about 'Let's move forward. What do we do next?' and 'What can we do to help our students be productive citizens and get the jobs they want?' and 'How do we train them?' and 'How do we meet the needs of the business community in Arkansas?' and 'What do we need to do to make those things happen?'
"In a position like dean, you don't get to see the light bulb," Wayland acknowledges. "But what you do is, you create a lot of programs and you facilitate the learning of many. And that is what I enjoy today."
Scott Teague, regional commercial banking manager for US Bank and an MBA graduate of the college, can attest to Wayland's success in doing what she enjoys.
"She is very open, transparent and not afraid to ask 'why' or share her opinion," he says. "These traits enable her to show passion for, and drive results in, the college."
Also under Wayland's watch, the college's MBA program has been revamped to include boot camps on soft skills -- attributes that enable a person to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people. In addition, there's now a Weekend MBA program by which students can study online and come in for a daylong class one Saturday a month. A focus group concerning real-estate studies resulted in a shift in focus to commercial real estate.
The college has offered an online management program for years. Online information systems and accounting classes were recently added, so three degree programs will be available completely online -- a real bonus, and a less expensive one, for those who have families and work. "This will give constituents -- our students -- more opportunities, and we're thrilled with that," Wayland says.
SERVING THE COMMUNITY
Wayland says few people realize that the college has two external units: the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center and the Arkansas Economic Development Institute, the latter of which works with governments and businesses to enhance Arkansas' economy.
The college's community outreach activities include the Kenneth Pat Wilson Center for Economic Education, whose director does financial literacy training.
Wayland also credits the college's 30-member advisory council with its accomplishments. Each department has its own advisory council that is curriculum-oriented, "but the advisory council that I work with is a little bit more global for the college."
Carole Smith, Simmons Bank's senior vice president for commercial banking and incoming council president, says she is honored to be Wayland's friend and to serve on the council.
"One of the many things [she] has focused on, and asked the council to support, is creating opportunities for the central Arkansas business community to interact with students," Smith says. "She is a strong believer that the college needs to prepare their students to find a career and prepare to enter the workplace. So integration of the business community into the lives of the students before they graduate is an important part of that."
Wayland says she would like to create a separate unit by which businesses could present the college with a problem, and the college facilitates student teams to solve that problem under the supervision of a coordinator. Students team up to solve real company problems now, but only within certain classes, she says.
Away from work, Wayland likes paper crafts and needlework ... sort of. "I don't have time to do either one, so I collect supplies to do it," she says, laughing.
She also enjoys downtown condominium living with her husband, Bob Wayland, whom she met in graduate school. They recently celebrated their 28th anniversary. Bob, 75, had retired, but re-entered the workforce to consult as a labor specialist for three years before taking over the classes of a deceased business professor. He has now been at UALR two years as a visiting management professor. They have four adult sons between them.
Though Wayland is approaching so-called retirement age, she won't hear of it. She's having "too much fun" in her job ... and she's as much recruiter for the university and the college as she is administrator.
"UALR is in the best situation for a student in our region to save money," she points out. "They can live at home -- they don't want to hear that. They can drive their clunker car, right? They don't want to hear about driving their clunker car. And they can come to school here very inexpensively.
"I think UA-Little Rock is a gem in this city. ... And I think the College of Business is a gem for the business community." But, she adds, "I'm a little prejudiced."
SELF PORTRAIT
Jane Wayland
DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH: Sept. 20, 1955, Wytheville, Va.
FANTASY DINNER GUESTS: Abraham Lincoln, John and Abigail Adams, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Harriet Tubman
THE BEST BUSINESS-RELATED BOOK OUT THERE: There are too many to name, but for leadership I like Strength Finders 2.0 by Tom Rath and Strengths-Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow by Barry Conchie and Tom Rath
WHAT I WISH I KNEW THEN THAT BUSINESS STUDENTS KNOW NOW: to look for opportunities outside of your major
BEST ADVICE I EVER GOT was from my husband, Bob, who continually tells me that I am capable to do the things I need to do.
BEST ADVICE I EVER GAVE was to all my students: Show up for class!
WHAT I MISS MOST ABOUT THE CLASSROOM IS seeing students find their passion.
MY GUILTY PLEASURE: I love to watch YouTube videos on card-making techniques and then buy all the tools and supplies to create things that I never have time to actually create.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING A 21ST-CENTURY BUSINESS STUDENT NEEDS TO LEARN: Learning does not end with your degree. You must continue to study and adapt to the changing business environment.
FOR WOMEN IN BUSINESS there has been much progress in … moving into the C-Suite and establishing successful businesses, [but] there is more effort needed to remove stereotyping and ensure pay equity.
ONE WORD TO SUM ME UP: determined
High Profile on 05/07/2017