Caryn Beck-Dudley: One of Tallahassee's 25 Women You Should Know 2010

ETE rejoiced to see Caryn Beck-Dudley (Beta Xi - Utah State), Dean of FSU's School of Business, honored by the Tallahassee community. Caryn exemplifies AXΩ's Real. Strong. Woman. An additional fun fact: Caryn's daughter is a current BH collegian.


Dean sees vital community role for College of Business
By Dave Hodges • DEMOCRAT BUSINESS EDITOR • March 7, 2010

An attorney primed for a law career, Caryn Beck-Dudley found the attraction of the classroom too much to resist.Husband Lynn Dudley, a soil chemist, got a job at Utah State University, and the couple settled nearby. An individual who taught business law at Utah State abruptly resigned, and a Realtor who saw the classified ad in the newspaper for a temporary instructor phoned to ask Beck-Dudley if she might like to teach.

The decision she made put her on a whole new career track. "I loved it. I was passionate about it. It was tons of fun," she said of the experience. She taught business law, finance law and real estate law. "I got a permanent position and never looked back."

It was four years ago this month that Beck-Dudley arrived at Florida State University to become the dean of the College of Business. Since then, she has worked with the faculty to craft a strategic plan for the college and raise its stature among institutions of its type in the U.S.
"We decided that we really wanted to be a preeminent business school, among the top business schools in the world and that requires a variety of types of things," said Beck-Dudley, one of the 25 Women You Need to Know, the Democrat's annual celebration of women and their contributions to the community.

The effort got its share of notice. "The college is currently ranked No. 35 among public institutions in the nation by U.S. News & World Report (2010), and each of its five departments holds special distinctions of their own," communications manager Lindsay Potvin wrote in her nomination.

The plan set important goals for the college and the steps necessary to achieve them. One in particular is the addition of new programs for students.

"To me, the most gratifying is just the number of student-oriented activities that we have added to the college in the past four years," she said. "We have added a whole new internship program. We have added a student-run investment fund. We've added a brand new entrepreneurship certificate and entrepreneurship program where students are actually starting businesses."
She also stresses the college's need to be involved in Tallahassee's business community, and she leads by example, staying active with the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce, serving on the Economic Development Council of Tallahassee/Leon County, and helping with projects of the Knight Creative Communities Initiative.

"I firmly believe that colleges of business should be part of the business community in which they sit, and actually in the broader community. We try to expand our activities throughout the state of Florida with different programs, and actually even up to Atlanta with some," she said.

ETE is blessed with great women!