FAIRFIELD, Conn.—Sacred Heart University has hired Catherine McCabe as dean of the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology (WCBT). McCabe will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to SHU when she takes her post July 1.
In her new role, McCabe will provide strong academic leadership and promote and foster excellence in teaching, research, professional practice and service. Her experience in higher education and business curriculum has prepared her well to build on Sacred Heart’s entrepreneurial networks and to enhance interactions within SHU and with other colleges and universities.
“It was very important for me to join a community that fit with my personal and professional values and my leadership style,” McCabe said. “The history, vision and mission of Sacred Heart University is a wonderful fit for me. SHU unites learners and educators who embrace the dignity and value of all people―people who are motivated to serve others and the common good of society through engagement with the Catholic intellectual tradition and liberal arts traditions.
“For more than 22 years, my teaching, scholarship and leadership have been built on the belief that learning is a holistic process that involves empathy, compassion, reflection, analytical thinking and the opportunity to engage in experiences that challenge us and build lifelong success,” McCabe continued. “I see this holistic process taking place with Sacred Heart students, families, faculty, alumni, staff and partners, and I am truly grateful to be a member of the SHU community.”
A graduate of St. Anselm College in Goffstown, NH, with a bachelor of arts degree in English, McCabe also holds a master of arts degree in communication studies from Emerson College in Boston, MA, and a Ph.D. in business administration and marketing from the University of Kentucky in Lexington, KY.
She worked at Suffolk University in Boston since 2000, most recently serving as associate dean of the university’s Sawyer Business School. Her many achievements there include increasing first-year retention, boosting the six-year graduation rate, and raising the percentage of business school honor students. She had similar success when she chaired Suffolk’s marketing department, increasing the number of students choosing marketing as a major, as well as the number of students placed in internships.
As a leader in experiential education, McCabe has collaborated with the faculty, alumni and advisory councils in various academic departments to develop experiential curricula in response to market demands. Her collaboration led to more business students gaining full-time employment from internships and consulting projects with partners such as Liberty Mutual, John Hancock, Merrill Lynch, Smith Barney, Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley the Boston Celtics, the Boston Red Sox and more.
“We are thrilled to welcome Catherine to the SHU community,” said Robin Cautin, SHU provost. “Her expertise and years of experience will continue to elevate the Welch College of Business & Technology. She is dedicated to providing deep, transformative learning to our students while making innovation and entrepreneurship a priority.”
McCabe’s goals for the WCBT include partnering with faculty to enhance current learning experiences and designing next-generation, cutting-edge curriculum that integrates business discipline strengths with those of computer science and engineering. She also plans to expand current partnerships with local, regional, national and global organizations.
McCabe has designed or taught 18 undergraduate and graduate experiential courses, including sports marketing consulting, professional services marketing, marketing analytics and the business of global sports. She also has led curriculum revision successfully at the department, school and university levels. She is a learning partner and consultant with the Institute for Experiential Learning and works with educators across the globe as she focuses on experiential learning as a holistic, developmental process.
McCabe was selected to be dean after a comprehensive national search that included consideration of numerous, highly qualified candidates. Because of her own Catholic university education, joining the SHU community is like coming home, she said, adding, “Sacred Heart’s core values and commitment to students’ holistic education provides all of us with a foundation to achieve great things.
“The faculty and administration have already made me feel very welcome,” McCabe continued. “I am honored to have been selected to serve as dean, and I look forward to working with the faculty to build on the many successes and traditions of the WCBT to create a learning environment that continues to position everyone in the community for success.”
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About Sacred Heart University
As the second-largest independent Catholic university in New England, and one of the fastest-growing in the U.S., Sacred Heart University is a national leader in shaping higher education for the 21st century. SHU offers nearly 90 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs on its Fairfield, Conn., campus. Sacred Heart also has satellites in Connecticut, Luxembourg and Ireland and offers online programs. More than 9,000 students attend the University’s nine colleges and schools: Arts & Sciences; Communication, Media & the Arts; Social Work; Computer Science & Engineering; Health Professions; the Isabelle Farrington College of Education & Human Development; the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology; the Dr. Susan L. Davis, R.N., & Richard J. Henley College of Nursing; and St. Vincent’s College. Sacred Heart stands out from other Catholic institutions as it was established and led by laity. The contemporary Catholic university is rooted in the rich Catholic intellectual tradition and the liberal arts, and at the same time cultivates students to be forward thinkers who enact change—in their own lives, professions and in their communities. The Princeton Review includes SHU in its Best 387 Colleges–2022 Edition, “Best Northeastern” and Best Business Schools–2022 Edition. Sacred Heart is home to the award-winning, NPR-affiliated radio station, WSHU, a Division I athletics program and an impressive performing arts program that includes choir, band, dance and theatre. www.sacredheart.edu