PBN 2021 Leaders & Achievers Awards
Sylvia Maxfield | Dean, Providence College School of Business
Over her nearly 10-year tenure as dean of the Providence College School of Business, Sylvia Maxfield has been “pretty hard-driving about continuous improvement” for the school, she said.
Proof of Maxfield’s successful leadership comes in the form of a long list of accomplishments, which include overseeing the opening of the spacious new Ryan Center for Business Studies in 2017, establishing three endowed chairs and increasing MBA enrollments by about fivefold.
“Being awarded the prestigious business accreditation AACSB helped [with enrollment],” Maxfield said. “We worked hard to improve the student experience and get the word out that the program offered flexibility for students and featured faculty and staff who deliver a high-touch, quality business education.”
But her proudest achievement, she says, has been raising the undergraduate business school’s ranking to a top 50 position, as awarded by the undergraduate ranking website Poets & Quants.
“It wouldn’t have been possible without building our new Ryan Center for Business Studies,” she said.
When she talks to prospective undergraduate students, Maxfield often emphasizes Providence College’s strong liberal arts offerings as a selling point.
“When you add our Catholic and Dominican religious heritage and Division I athletics, this makes the PCSB pretty unique,” she said.
During her tenure, Maxfield has focused on increasing internship opportunities, as well as bolstering alumni engagement.
More recently, the challenges and setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have led Maxfield to place more of a focus on “leading with empathy,” she said. She also notes that transparency and accountability are key aspects of her leadership style.
Maxfield is currently focusing on overseeing the implementation of the ambitious PCBiz 2025 strategic plan, which includes metrics for 20 objectives, including improving student learning objectives related to ethics and increasing diversity of students, faculty and staff.
