UNC Kenan-Flagler’s new Bell Hall opened for student classes in January.
UNC KENAN-FLAGLER OPENS BELL HALL TO CLASSES
UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School opened Steven D. Bell Hall for classes this month, expanding space for its undergraduate program while bringing its portfolio of programs under one roof. The new building reflects years of planning, fundraising, and alumni involvement aimed at supporting long-term growth.
The project was led by alum Leo Horey (MBA ‘90), a real estate veteran and retired chief administrative officer of AvalonBay Communities. Horey chaired a committee advising the university on design, budget, and construction. He joined the effort with a focus on hands-on involvement in planning and execution, not just philanthropy.
Bell Hall includes energy-efficient systems, renewable materials, and water conservation features. It is the first UNC building to target all three goals of the university’s Three Zeros initiative: net-zero water, zero waste to landfills, and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. The school is also seeking LEED Platinum certification and compliance with the Fitwel standard for healthy buildings.
Beyond the building itself, the project highlights the role of alumni engagement at Kenan-Flagler. Horey has served on the school’s board, led the Wood Center for Real Estate Studies advisory board, and supported initiatives ranging from curriculum development to housing affordability research. He views alumni involvement as a mix of time, expertise, mentorship, and financial support.
TEXAS McCOMBS EXPANDS HOUSTON MBA PRESENCE
On the sixth floor of this modern office building near CityCentre, students will enjoy 30,000 square feet of classroom, dining, networking, and study space during the program’s weekend sessions.
University of Texas-Austin McCombs School of Business will relocate its Working Professional MBA Program in Houston to new facilities near CityCentre, committing $13 million to the Houston market over the next decade. The move shifts the program from the Texas Medical Center to a modern office tower in the Energy Corridor, reflecting a long-term investment in the region.
Beginning in Fall 2026, classes will be held on the sixth floor of a 15-story Class AA office tower at 990 Town & Country Blvd., a former Marathon Oil Corporation headquarters completed in 2022. The leased space includes two tiered classrooms seating about 70 students each, a large multipurpose area that can convert into classrooms or dining space, study rooms, staff offices, and access to an outdoor terrace. On class weekends, students will have access to roughly 30,000 square feet.
The Houston Working Professional MBA has operated since 2005 and is part of the Hildebrand MBA Program. It is currently ranked No. 6 by U.S. News & World Report and No. 3 nationally by Fortune. The program uses an alternating weekend format that allows students to apply coursework immediately in their weekday roles.
School leaders say the new location reduces logistical friction for working professionals while strengthening ties to Houston’s business community. More than 17,000 McCombs alumni live in the Houston metro area, including about 1,700 graduates of the Houston MBA program. The space will also serve as a hub for alumni events and engagement.
Recently shortlisted for THE UK’s Most Innovative Teacher of the Year award, ESCP’s Professor Marie Taillard has been appointed Dean of the London Campus for a three-year term.
ESCP APPOINTS NEW UK DEAN IN LONDON
ESCP Business School has appointed Professor Marie Taillard as Dean of its London campus. The three-year appointment follows her service as interim dean and comes as ESCP continues to expand its academic and industry footprint in the United Kingdom.
Taillard is a professor of creativity and marketing and has held several senior leadership roles at ESCP since joining the faculty in 2007. She founded and launched the MSc in Marketing & Creativity, now one of the school’s flagship programs, and previously served as UK associate dean of executive education and London campus head of faculty.
School leaders say the appointment reflects both continuity and ambition for ESCP’s UK strategy. Leon Laulusa, executive president and dean of ESCP, cited Taillard’s academic leadership, program-building experience, and long-standing commitment to the school. ESCP’s London campus has seen steady growth in recent years as it strengthens links with industry and the wider business community.
Taillard holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a PhD from the University of London. Her research focuses on marketing management, consumer behavior, and creativity, with recent work examining digital transformation and organizational change. She was recently shortlisted for Times Higher Education’s Most Innovative Teacher of the Year award.
As dean, Taillard said she plans to expand the London campus’s program portfolio, grow lifelong learning offerings, and deepen ties between academic research, industry, and the local community, in line with ESCP’s Bold & United strategy.
ESCP was recently named Poets&Quants’ Business School of the Year.
emlyon business school in France.
EMLYON JOINS STATION F TO EXPAND STARTUP ACCELERATION
emlyon business school has opened a dedicated presence at STATION F, the world’s largest startup campus. The move deepens emlyon’s footprint in the Paris and global tech ecosystem and gives the school a base to deliver its entrepreneurial programs through emlyon venture labs.
The school will operate a space with 36 workstations at STATION F and launch a new acceleration program for founders. The initiative builds on emlyon’s long-standing focus on entrepreneurship. The school created its first incubator in 1984 and has since supported more than 2,800 companies through emlyon venture labs.
The “emlyon at STATION F” program targets startups founded by emlyon students and alumni, along with selected external projects aligned with the school’s areas of expertise. The program places a strong emphasis on international founders and cross-border growth. Startups will receive a renewable six-month package that includes mentoring, regular project reviews, and strategic guidance from an expert board.
Participants will also gain access to the broader STATION F ecosystem, including investor networks, events, and campus services. STATION F hosts more than 1,000 startups each year and hundreds of investors, offering founders daily exposure to capital and partners. emlyon says the combined academic and startup environment is designed to help ventures move from idea to growth.
SKEMA STRENGTHENS PHD IN MANAGEMENT
SKEMA Business School has redesigned its PhD in Management to align more closely with the academic standards of leading global business schools. The five-year, full-time doctoral program is taught entirely in English and is led by Florencio Lopez de Silanes, strategic program director, and Zakaria Babutsidze, program director.
Beginning in January 2026, the program will follow a new academic roadmap supported by a restructured research environment. Doctoral candidates will take part in academic seminars and research discussions with scholars from leading institutions. The program remains highly selective, enrolling up to 15 students per year with strong quantitative and writing skills and a background in fields such as management, economics, statistics, applied mathematics, or engineering.
The PhD in Management is organized around six tracks: Strategy and Innovation, Finance and Accounting, Analytics and Operations, Marketing, Sustainability, and Artificial Intelligence for Business. The first two years focus on coursework at SKEMA’s Sophia Antipolis campus. Years three through five are dedicated to research conducted on the thesis supervisor’s campus, following successful completion of two comprehensive exams.
Each doctoral candidate follows a personalized pathway with close supervision. Faculty supervision loads are intentionally limited, and students receive financial support for conference participation and access to proprietary research databases. Over the course of the program, candidates are required to produce three scientific articles intended for submission to top international academic journals.
Graduates earn a PhD in Management from SKEMA as well as a doctorate from Université Côte d’Azur. School leaders say the redesigned structure prepares doctoral candidates for academic careers at the highest international level.
Founded in 2009 through the merger of CERAM Business School and ESC Lille, SKEMA now enrolls about 11,000 students from more than 130 nationalities. It operates a multi-campus model across six countries: France (Sophia Antipolis, Lille, Paris), the United States (Raleigh), Canada (Montreal), Brazil (Belo Horizonte), China (Suzhou, Nanjing), South Africa (Stellenbosch), and the United Arab Emirates (Dubai).
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