Like all squads, the roster rotates from year to year, but David Souder knows what it takes to motivate and inspire — using words like heart, resilience and effort to describe those he helps empower to reach their professional and personal best.
“They’re known for grit and determination and a willingness to work hard,” he said. “We want the people who want to be part of the team that figures out what to do — and then is willing to run through walls to make it happen.”
Yet this isn’t some locker room pep talk to energize his players before they storm the athletic field. Souder is speaking of the Michigan State University students studying the buttoned-down corporate world of commerce at the Eli Broad College of Business. For the past two years, Souder has served as the Eli and Edythe L. Broad dean at the prestigious college, bringing a deeply rooted passion for public higher education and real-world impact to his leadership role.
A Legacy of Excellence and Innovation
Before stepping into his current role, Souder spent 17 years ascending through the academic ranks at the University of Connecticut, serving as a professor of strategic management, associate dean and interim campus dean. But his professional journey began well before academia, giving him a unique perspective on the private sector. That industry experience helps him bridge the gap between classroom theory and the fast-paced demands of corporate leadership.
Under Souder’s guidance, the Broad College continues to build on its world-renowned strengths, such as its top-tier supply chain management and hospitality business programs. However, resting on past achievements is not in the Spartan playbook. The college is aggressively looking ahead, positioning itself at the forefront of digital transformation by integrating artificial intelligence into its curriculum.
“We want to be among the leaders of business schools… in how we’re using AI to both improve the student experience and help students learn better, but also prepare them for a world in which this is going to be one of the tools that they’ll use in the workforce,” Souder said.
Rather than chasing fleeting technology trends, the faculty focuses on core frameworks that equip students to think critically and adapt over a decades-long career. Whether artificial intelligence is reshaping data analysis or new tools emerge in the future, Broad graduates are trained to handle complex environments ethically and effectively.
Pervasive Ethics and Problem-Solving
In today’s globalized economy, technical prowess alone is not enough. The Broad College ensures that character development is embedded into every student’s journey through forward-thinking initiatives like the Broad 360 Integrative Experiences Requirement. To graduate, students must complete six distinct extracurricular categories, including intensive modules on ethics and entrepreneurship.
This commitment to ethical leadership comes to life through interactive case competitions and prominent guest speakers, such as corporate whistleblowers who offer raw, real-world lessons in accountability. Meanwhile, entrepreneurship thrives through initiatives like the nationally ranked Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, which is housed within the Broad College but serves students across all of Michigan State University.
The college’s impact extends far beyond traditional corporate boardrooms. By collaborating across disciplines, Broad researchers and students tackle critical societal challenges. For example, supply chain experts work hand-in-hand with the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ packaging program and the College of Engineering. Similarly, MSU’s partnership with Henry Ford Health, links Broad students with the university’s hospitality school and other areas of study to apply business science to health care delivery, helping hospitals serve patients more efficiently without getting bogged down in bureaucracy.
Global Perspective, Lasting Community
To truly change the world, Broad students must understand it. The college strongly encourages international study abroad experiences and welcomes international students to campus, fostering a rich cross-cultural exchange in East Lansing.
“There is no substitute for experiencing it,” Souder noted, reflecting on his own transformative undergraduate study abroad experience 35 years ago. “The different ways of thinking, the different ways of incorporating information and the different cultural norms … will influence the practice of business.”
Whether collaborating on multidisciplinary research or pushing the envelope in digital education, the collective enterprise of the Broad College is designed to make business practice better, uplift local companies and drive society forward.
As East Lansing transforms itself with the additional traffic and crowded sidewalks of another school year as students return, there’s a significant uptick in energy and enthusiasm around campus as young minds take focus on the world of possibilities, Souder said.
The excitement can, perhaps, only be rivalled by the bittersweet departure of a graduating class at the end of the academic year, as students take their years of accumulated knowledge and skill out to reshape the wider world around them.
“Graduation is this culminating event … but you’re also saying goodbye,” Souder said. “I will say, and I think I think most faculty feel this way, you kind of love it when students you had in class come back out of the blue … and you have a chance to interact with them. That connection is great. So, the notion of goodbye is not as permanent as it is the start to a different type of relationship.”
Christopher Nagy
Christopher Nagy is the senior editor for 517 Business and M3 Group. He spent more than 25 years in the field of journalism working at every level of the newsroom. Despite that, he’s still a pretty good guy.
