Gossett becomes Walker chair

Kristian Biega, News Editor

The Walker College of Business is in the process of restructuring its administration. With these new changes, Kristofer Gossett, DBA, has been appointed chair of the department by Dean Heidi Hosey, Ph.D.

“My job is to try to represent the students and the faculty in the business department the best I can,” Gossett said. “I’m excited. It’s a way for me to help my fellow faculty members as a voice for them as we try to champion for change in the department.”

Gossett served as interim chair last year with Brenda Ponsford, Ph.D., serving as dean. This year, he was nominated and accepted the position moving forward.

The role of chair is primarily to make sure the day-to-day operations of the department are accomplished, to work with all of the faculty personally and help students with any administrative issues such as classes and graduation that they may need help with.

“It’s a fun position in the sense that you get to help with change and you feel like you’re more active in having a voice for change,” Gossett said. “You get that ability to have some ideas that you’d like to see and work towards those changes if they are beneficial to students and faculty.”

Although the position has a steep learning curve with particular policies and paperwork to understand, Gossett feels that his position as interim chair greatly helped with his transition into the full time role.

“When you’re interim, you are stepping in mid-stream. It’s like trying to put out a bunch of fires at once,” Gossett said. “It’s calmed down by now where I have more of a feel for the job, but you walk into a lot of things at once.”

Gossett is looking forward to being a voice for the department and working with all of the faculty as opposed to the more individual responsibilities of only being a professor. He hopes to use the position as a servant leadership role, focused on helping build up the department as a whole based on listening to the needs of students and faculty.

“The part of the job that I am most excited for is more of the collaborative environment than just being worried about my classes and those type of things. It’s a different challenge, but one that I think is really good for me,” Gossett said.

Even among the restructuring of Walker, Gossett is still very positive about how the department will grow and change.

“It’s been a juggling act of sorts,” Gossett said. “But as long as day-to-day operations are getting done, that’s what we really need moving forward and we will wait to see how the rest of the administration shakes out in the fall.”