Convocation Ceremony Program for the Graduate Class of 2023

Convocation Speakers

Susan Fournier
Allen Questrom Professor and Dean
Professor, Marketing

Susan Fournier joined the faculty at Boston University Questrom School of Business in 2005 as an Associate Professor of Marketing and Dean’s Research Fellow. In the ensuing years, she advanced through the faculty ranks and was named Questrom Professor in Management in 2013. She has been an influential member of the community in her varied roles as an educator, researcher, and administrator.

As Questrom’s first academic dean in over 40 years, Susan has the benefit of an inside perspective. She brings a wealth of personal experience in academia with over 24 years in the Undergrad, MBA and Executive classrooms of Harvard Business School, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, and Questrom. She is a celebrated professor who designed and delivered one of Questrom’s Top 10 MBA electives. She recently served as Senior Associate Dean of Faculty & Research, and was a prior Faculty Director of the Questrom MBA and Doctoral programs. She is an award-winning researcher with an in-depth knowledge of the research and publication enterprises, what it takes to produce “research that matters,” how to bring that knowledge into the classroom, and what it takes to translate academic research for the most significant impact on practice—facets critical to understand in the pursuit of creating value for the world.

Susan is also the first woman dean at Questrom, marking a significant moment in our history. She is “looking forward to a time when this descriptor is not considered a unique attribute.” Of equal importance, Susan is a first-generation college student. This status gives her meaningful insight as Questrom continues to focus on diversity and inclusion in all aspects of the School’s life.

Barbara Bickart
Senior Associate Dean, Graduate Programs
Associate Professor, Marketing

I study how the context of communication influences consumers’ inference and judgment processes. My research was one of the first to demonstrate the persuasive impact of consumer-generated content on social media relative to marketer-generated content. Current projects explore how social media influencers strategically use disclosure of personal information in an online setting to create connections with their audience, how brand-related bragging on social media affects perceptions of both the communicator and the brand, and how engaging in social TV affects consumers’ enjoyment of the experience.

I serve  on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, where I was previously an Associate Editor. I have also served on the Journal of Consumer Research Policy Board, the Association for Consumer Research Board of Directors, and the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, and Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.

I am particularly interested in using digital technology to enhance management education. Over 70,000 learners have enrolled in the Strategic Social Media Marketing MOOC, which is part of the BU Questrom Digital Product Management MicroMasters Program on edX.

I earned my PhD in Business Administration at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prior to joining Questrom, I served on the faculties at the University of Florida, the Wharton School, and Rutgers University-School of Business, Camden. I am an alum of the HERS Leadership Institute (Wellesley 2017).

Manu Kadyan
MBA Candidate, Class of 2023

Manu is a second-year MBA (Health Sector Management) and MS in Digital Technology candidate at the Questrom School of Business. Manu grew up in New Delhi, India, and before moving to Boston for his MBA, he worked as a Product Manager for a medical device startup in India. Manu interned at PwC last summer and will be returning as a Senior Associate in their management consulting practice this year. He is also the President of the Questrom Graduate Student Council and serves on the Provost’s Graduate Student Advisory Board at BU.