The Role of Leaders and Actors in Academy-Business Partnerships: Issues of Risk, Trust, Power, Ethics, and Cooperation

Morgan R. Clevenger , EdD, MBA, is a tenured Associate Professor of Management and Chair of the Department of Management, Supply Chain Management, Marketing, & Digital Marketing in the Scarborough School of Business & Communication at Hiram College, OH, USA, and Professor of Management and Post-Doctoral Fellow with Monarch Business School, Switzerland, in Corporate Social Responsibility and Global Business Ethics. He has been a visiting professor in the Department of Management, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship in the Grove College of Business at Shippensburg University, PA, USA, and is erstwhile tenured Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at Wilkes University, PA, USA. Clevenger is an award-winning professor and researcher. He attained a bachelor of science degree in journalism from the Reed School of Media and Communications (formerly the Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism) and an MBA from the John Chambers College of Business and Economics, both at West Virginia University. Clevenger completed a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Clevenger researches, writes, and presents on issues of higher education, management, nonprofit management, entrepreneurship, and corporate social responsibility.

Mark Kretovics , PhD, is an Emeritus Professor of Higher Education Administration and Student Affairs at Kent State University. He received his Ph. D. in Education and Human Resource Studies from Colorado State University and also holds an MBA and an MS in Counseling and Student Development. His research interests include accreditation issues, business practices in higher education, and power & politics in higher education institutions. He has received two Fulbright Senior Specialists awards, one taking him to Kyrgyzstan and the other to Cambodia where he consulted on the issues of accreditation and organizational effectiveness. Mark has also been very active with the Higher Learning Commission for more than 15 years. Currently he serves on the Institutional Actions Committee and is an institutional peer reviewer for all pathways to accreditation. His publications include a sole authored book (Business Practices in Higher Education: A Guide for Today’s Administrators), a co-edited book (Financing Higher Education in a Global Market), and numerous peer reviewed articles. Mark had more than 20 years of administrative experience within higher education before transitioning into his final faculty role. He served as a Dean of Students at two small colleges and finished his administrative career as the Assistant Dean for Academic Support and Assessment Services in the College of Business at Colorado State. While at Kent State he was tapped for two interim administrative roles within the College of Education, Health, and Human Services – Interim School Director for Foundations, Leadership, and Administration for one year and Interim Dean of the College for 2 years.

Jessica Shepard Watts , PhD, is Chief Partnerships Officer at The Dallas Foundation, directing engagement with current and prospective donor partners, professional advisors, and key stakeholders. She has a distinguished career spanning development and external affairs in the nonprofit, education, and corporate domains. Her track record as an authentic relationship builder and results-oriented leader is evident from her tenure at esteemed organizations such as Axxess, the University of North Texas, the University of Texas at Dallas, and the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas. Throughout her fundraising career, Watts has secured over $150 million from individual donors, corporate partners, and foundations. In her role at Axxess, she oversaw global university relations, corporate citizenship, and external affairs. Her university-industry partnership experience was integral to new executive initiatives, including partnering with the University of Texas at Dallas in opening its first office in Africa―UTD Africa, developing an Axxess MBA Rotational Leadership Program, and launching the annual Axxess Hackathon. Watts previously spent ten years in higher education, serving in corporate and foundation leadership roles at the University of North Texas and The University of Texas at Dallas. She began her career in corporate fundraising at the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas. Watts holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from The University of Texas-Arlington and both a master’s and doctoral degree in public affairs from The University of Texas at Dallas. Watts has also been an instrumental leader, researcher, and past Board Chair for the Network of Academic Corporate Relations Officers (NACRO).