UNC Pembroke Appoints Nick Arena as New MBA Program Director

Business professor Nick Arena has been named director of UNC Pembroke’s MBA program. Following a successful career in manufacturing, Arena joined UNCP in 2008, teaching management, marketing and international business. He also obtained his MBA from the school in 2002 and was voted student of the year.

New plans to expand and redevelop the UNC Pembroke’s MBA Program

The appointment of new director coincidences with UNC Pembroke’s plans to launch new initiatives in the way in which it teaches its MBA programs. Possible options include delivering its program fully online or a blended system which combines fact-to-face instruction with online tools. Arena’s theoretical and practical experience in the field of MBAs and business marked him out as a strong candidate to help the school at this crucial point in its history. As Dean Ramin Cooper Maysami states in UNC Pembroke’s recent press statement, “Nick brings years of management experience with him as well as familiarity with the current demand-driven market for MBA graduates. We are ready to move the program to the next level, and Nick is the right person to lead the effort,” he said. “The first thing we plan to do is update the MBA curriculum to address the needs of the 21st century business”.

UNC Pembroke’s MBA program started in 1995 as an evening program and has a current population of approximately 50 students, though it is anticipated that his number will rise to over 100 students in the near future given that UNCP was recently awarded accreditation from the prestigious Association of Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) last spring.

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