Freeman College of Management: Faculty Expansion

Endowing faculty and staff positions in the Freeman College of Management is an investment in what makes the Bucknell education extraordinary. Building on our already excellent faculty, Bucknell will bring management education to more students — including those outside Freeman — giving them greater access to relevant coursework, mentorship and accomplished teacher-scholars  Every new educator expands opportunity across the University and strengthens the teaching that prepares students for a changing world.” 

— Michelle Roehm, Kenneth W. Freeman Professor & Dean of the Freeman College of Management

Faculty are the Freeman advantage. They are accomplished scholars and seasoned practitioners who bring real-world business insights into the classroom, know every student by name and keep opening doors long after graduation. Small classes and close advising are not perks at Bucknell. They are the model, and the model only works when there are enough faculty to deliver it.

The Urgency: A Good Problem to Have

Students are choosing Freeman. Demand has outpaced faculty growth, and qualified students are being turned away. First-year classes have grown every year anyway, and students in other colleges find management courses all but out of reach.

Faculty feel it too. Advising loads have climbed alongside teaching loads, stretching the mentorship that defines a Bucknell education.

Demand isn’t the challenge. Capacity is.

Investing in Impactful Faculty and Staff 

Freeman is growing to 1,200 students, and demand from across the University keeps climbing. The plan: 27 new faculty — 17 to support growth in the major and 10 to open high-demand courses and minors to students in every college — in a balanced mix of tenure-track and professional-track appointments.

Bucknell is already moving. The first 10 hires will be complete by the end of the 2026–27 academic year, funded primarily through strategic internal reallocation. Philanthropy will fund and accelerate the remaining 17 faculty lines and four staff positions, and endowment makes them permanent.

Enrollment patterns and accreditation standards will guide where those 17 lines go. Current plans call for:

• Accounting: 1 professional-track and 1 tenure-track
• Business Analytics: 2 professional-track
• Finance: 1 professional-track and 3 tenure-track
• Management & Organizations: 3 professional-track and 1 tenure-track
• Markets, Innovation & Design: 4 tenure-track
• Real Estate: 1 professional-track

Key Metrics

• $76M+ New Endowment Investment Goal
• 17 New Dedicated Faculty Lines (five years)
• 4 New Staff Support Positions
• Double the number of seats for non-majors

What Your Gift Makes Possible 

Every new faculty line holds a door open. Together, they grow Freeman to 300 majors by 2032 and double the seats available to students in other colleges. They also protect what earned Freeman its national rankings in the first place: small classes, courses open across colleges and faculty and advisors who are there when each student needs them .  

Recognition Opportunities

• Distinguished Named Chair (Full Professor or Professor of the Practice): $6.5 million. Full cost of the position being funded (salary, benefits, stipend). This varies based on the discipline. 
• Named Chair (Full Professor or Professor of Practice): $5 million. Appointed for up to five years, with $10,000 a year for research and professional development.
• Named Professorship (Associate Professor or Associate Professor of the Practice): $2.5 million. Appointed for up to five years, with $5,000 a year.
• Named Faculty Fellowship (Assistant Professor or Assistant Professor of the Practice): $1.25 million. Named at the end of the second year and carried for four years through tenure review, with $2,500 a year.
• Faculty Development & Research: Flexible support for research, professional development and scholarly work; can be added to any named position.