The new rector of Bocconi University, Gianmario Verona, and ten of the 11 pro-rectors and deans of his rector's team take office today. Verona, 46 years old, professor of innovation, goes to occupy the office on the first floor of via Sarfatti 25 which, for the last four years, has belonged to Andrea Sironi, with a precise mandate, which can be summarized in five points:
consolidation and strengthening of human capital;
enhancement of basic and applied research;
further internationalization of SDA Bocconi School of Management;
continuous innovation of study programs;
strengthening of partnerships with companies and support for fundraising.
To support him in the pursuit of these objectives, which derive from the Bocconi 2020 Strategic Plan, there will be a team, made up of 11 men and women.
Ten of the 11 pro-rectors and deans take office today, because Verona maintains the interim position in Human Resources until February 1, when he will return to Bocconi, and in particular in the Department of Policy Analysis and Public Management, Francesco Billari, currently at the University of Oxford.
Leading SDA Bocconi and its ever greater international reach will be the new Dean, Giuseppe Soda. “We will have to make the distinctive positioning of the University and SDA Bocconi abroad more explicit with respect to the big European and global players”, Verona clarifies. "From this point of view we are fortunate to be able to benefit from our innovative potential and the attractiveness of Milan, a city that has shown an extraordinary positive energy in recent years".
Annalisa Prencipe will have the task of leading the university school, while Antonella Carù is confirmed in their respective positions as dean of the university high school, Stefano Liebman at the law school and Pierpaolo Battigalli at the doctoral school. “The innovation I care about the most”, continues Verona, “is helping our kids to be, on the one hand, more analytical and, on the other, more flexible, as required by the job market. This will mean cross-strengthening data science skills while increasing connections to practice activities.”
Continuity and novelty balance each other even among the pro-rectors. Stefano Caselli will continue to deal with internationalization, while Bruno Busacca and Alberto Grando, already part of the Sironi team, change roles, moving on to deal with development and relations with alumni (Busacca) and implementation of the strategic plan (Grando).
Fausto Panunzi will be responsible for general affairs and Marco Ottaviani will be pro-rector for research. “We will have to further consolidate research and its mechanisms to favor the brain gain of the best human capital and direct it to produce both theoretical and impact research. We have a tight plan to attract new talent by giving them the conditions to express themselves at their best”, concludes the new rector, whose office, appointed by the University's board of directors, has a two-year term.
