Penn State Smeal unveils plan to be top-5 public business school by 2030

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Smeal College of Business has announced a new strategic plan that charts a bold course to become a top-five public business school by 2030, while deepening its long-standing commitment to integrity, impact and partnership. 

“Business is being reshaped by seismic shifts in technology, geopolitics and society,” said Corey Phelps, John and Karen Arnold Dean of Smeal. “This strategic plan is our blueprint for not just keeping pace with that change, but leading it — by preparing learners for lifelong success, accelerating world-class research and partnering with organizations that want business to be a force for good.”

Building on a strong mission and values

The strategic plan preserves Smeal’s mission as a leader in business education and research focused on meaningful societal impact — through extraordinary education with real-world application, high-caliber research that informs ethical and innovative business practices and a culture grounded in integrity, diversity, service and sustainability. 

Anchored in Penn State’s core values of integrity, respect, responsibility, discovery, excellence and community, the plan reinforces Smeal’s commitment to developing principled, globally minded leaders and to serving as a trusted partner for learners and organizations across the world. 

Five strategic priorities

At the heart of the plan is a focused set of five strategic priorities that will guide investments and decisions over the next several years: 

1. Enrich the student experience by expanding and enhancing career services, experiential learning and holistic support so every student is equipped to thrive in a dynamic job market.
2. Transform teaching and learning through innovative curricula, new program development and experimental pedagogy that reflect the realities of a data-rich, AI-enabled, global economy.
3. Advance research excellence and doctoral distinction by investing in faculty talent, research infrastructure and strategic visibility to elevate Smeal’s impact on scholarship and practice.
4. Accelerate growth and organizational effectiveness through investments in people, space, technology and systems that enable the college to scale with quality and agility.
5. Drive external engagement and philanthropy by deepening partnerships with alumni, corporations and donors, and by elevating Smeal’s brand as a destination for outstanding talent and ideas.

“These priorities give us both focus and flexibility,” Phelps said. “They are ambitious enough to stretch us and clear enough that every student, faculty member, staff colleague and partner can see how their work contributes to Smeal’s future.”

Three signature platforms

The plan is brought to life through three cross-cutting platforms that knit together Smeal’s strengths in student success, physical space and responsible management into a distinctive value proposition: 

SmealX: The student experience and success engine

SmealX will unify career readiness, experiential learning, tutoring, mentoring, study abroad, advising and mental health support into a data-informed ecosystem. The goal: Every Smeal student — regardless of background — graduates with a portfolio of real-world experiences, in-demand skills, global fluency and the resilience needed to navigate multiple career transitions.

The Smeal Exchange

The Smeal Exchange is envisioned as a 50,000-square-foot, tech-forward expansion of the Business Building that brings together student success, behavioral insight and employer engagement under one roof. More than a building, it will be a convening space where students, faculty, alumni and corporate partners collaborate on real-world challenges, talent development and thought leadership in ways that competitors cannot easily replicate.

Smeal COMPASS

Smeal COMPASS positions the college among the world’s best business schools for responsible management education — where ethics, sustainability and responsible AI are embedded across courses, research centers and partnerships. By unifying and amplifying initiatives such as the Tarriff Center for Business Ethics and Social Responsibility and the Center for the Business of Sustainability, Smeal COMPASS will attract learners, scholars and organizations seeking to make business a force for long-term value creation and societal good.

“Responsible management isn’t a niche — it’s the future of business,” Phelps said. “Through Smeal COMPASS, we are making it impossible to come through Smeal without engaging deeply with ethics, sustainability and the implications of AI.”

A community-built plan, a shared future

The strategic plan was shaped through extensive engagement with students, faculty, staff, alumni and corporate partners — through town halls, surveys and working sessions designed to surface ideas and ensure shared ownership of the college’s future. 

“From the beginning, we knew this plan had to be built with our community, not just presented to them,” Phelps said. “The energy, candor and creativity we heard throughout the process give me tremendous confidence in our ability to execute.”

Implementation efforts are already underway, with Smeal leadership aligning resources, setting milestones and metrics and establishing mechanisms for transparency and accountability. Progress updates will be shared regularly with stakeholders as the college advances toward its 2030 vision.

“Our aspiration to be a top-five public business school is about more than rankings,” Phelps added. “It’s about amplifying our impact — on the students we educate, the organizations we serve, the communities we support and the ideas we generate. This plan is how we get there.”

Smeal’s strategic plan is available on the college’s website.