The Foster School of Business has appointed Professor Mark Forehand as Associate Dean of Master’s Programs. A respected scholar and educator, Forehand brings a wealth of experience to the role, having served as Chair of the Department of Marketing and International Business since 2016 and holding the Pigott Family Professorship in Business Administration since 2012.
Drawing from his extensive academic background, including a Ph.D. in Marketing from Stanford University and a prolific research portfolio in consumer behavior and brand strategy, Forehand is a highly regarded expert in his field.
“Mark is a thoughtful leader and a proven innovator,” says Dean Frank Hodge. “His ability to balance data-driven insights with a deep understanding of student and faculty needs makes him exceptionally well-suited for this role. I’m confident he will continue to elevate Foster’s master’s programs and ensure they remain responsive to the changing landscape of business education.”
“The challenge is to not just understand where our students and employers are today but to be able to forecast where we think they will be tomorrow.”—Mark Forehand
Evolving Business Education
Forehand acknowledges that while the foundational goals of Foster’s master’s programs remain strong—innovative curriculum, transformative student experiences, and strong employer partnerships—the external landscape is shifting rapidly.
“What is changing is the macro-environment for higher education in general and business education in particular,” he notes. “Although there are daunting challenges on both fronts, those challenges also create a tremendous opportunity for us to redesign existing programs and create new programs.”
To navigate this evolving landscape, Forehand emphasizes a proactive, student-centric, and data-driven approach.
“The challenge is to not just understand where our students and employers are today but to be able to forecast where we think they will be tomorrow.”
A vision for innovation
Forehand believes that increasing program flexibility and modularity will be key to meeting the needs of future students. His team plans to use data to identify new audiences and tailor offerings accordingly.
“We will be actively collecting data to identify audiences with needs that Foster is (or can be) well-positioned to meet,” he says. “As a general area of opportunity, I would suggest that the creation of programs with increased flexibility and modularity will be an important area for growth.”
In addition to his administrative responsibilities, Forehand will continue to teach Consumer Marketing and Brand Strategy in Foster’s Full-Time and Evening MBA programs. He believes that his experience as a faculty member offers distinct advantages, particularly in fostering curricular innovation while supporting faculty research endeavors.
Mark Forehand’s research topics include implicit attitude formation and measurement, consumer social identity and advertising response.
Acknowledging Dan Turner’s contributions to Foster
Forehand succeeds Dan Turner, who led the master’s programs for nearly two decades. Forehand acknowledged Turner’s impactful tenure, “Foster has been incredibly fortunate to have had Dan Turner’s excellent leadership in this position for nearly two decades. His remarkable organization has created a stable structure to the role that I do not envision changing in any dramatic way.”
The Foster School’s six specialized master’s programs include top-ranked degrees in accounting, business analytics, entrepreneurship, information systems, supply chain management, and taxation.