Michael Webber: “The Future of Graduate Professional Education: Challenges and Opportunities”

Michael J. Webber is currently Vice Provost of Academic Affairs at the University of San Francisco where he has particular responsibilities for the University’s branch campuses in Sacramento, San Jose, Pleasanton, Santa Rosa and a soon to be opened campus in Orange County.

Webber served as the Dean of the School of Management from 2011 to 2014 where he was the first Dean of the newly named School of Management and was responsible for establishing the School’s new mission, values and strategic plan. Under Professor Webber’s leadership, the School of Management was re-accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). In September 2012, Webber moved the Masagung Graduate School of Management to USF’s new downtown campus in the financial district of San Francisco, a move undertaken to ensure the School was closer to its existing business, nonprofit and government partners and to open new opportunities and partnerships for the School. Prior to this, Professor Webber worked in the Provost Office as Associate Vice Provost of Educational Effectiveness and he was also Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences.

A native of Wales, he holds a B.A. in Politics and History from Aberystwyth University, an M.Sc. in Industrial Relations from Cardiff University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. A political sociologist by training, his research concentrates on how business is connected to political processes in the United States focusing on the New Deal era where he has published two books and a number of articles on the politics of the period.