The W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University has announced that Dr. Duane Nagel will serve as the Director of its Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) and Executive MBA (EMBA) programs. Nagel will continue to serve as the Barton School’s Marketing Department Chair.

In this role, Dr. Nagel will oversee recruitment, enrollment, and retention activities for both MBA and EMBA programs including relationship building with companies and organizations to raise the programs’ profile and enrollments. He will also guide the programs’ curriculum, development and the student experience to ensure that the Barton School exceeds industry and student needs.

“Dr. Nagel’s background in industry, academics, and leadership make him uniquely qualified to assume this important position in the Barton School,” said Dr. Chris Broberg, Associate Dean of Graduate Programs & Research at the Barton School. “His background and talents will lead our programs to new levels of impact and growth.”

Nagel has more than15 years of experience working on both cultivating brands in advertising agencies and on the client-side. During this time, he held roles in brand management and as a Senior Account Lead where he developed marketing programs for global brands such as P&G, Gillette, Polaris Industries, Victory Motorcycles, MillerCoors, Moosehead Canadian Lager, PUR Water filters, and Nissan Europe. 

After working in the industry, Nagel pursued doctoral studies and received a PhD from the Dr. Persis E. Rockwood School of Marketing at Florida State University. In his current academic research, he explores the intersection of technology and brand engagement. His work has been published in the Journal of Service Research, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Services Marketing, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, and the Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice.

“As businesses continue to innovate and change, their use of technology broadens,” said Nagel. “I want these students to have a finger on the pulse of these technologies. By being on the forefront of this evolution, MBA and EMBA graduates from the Barton School can lead the charge across the country and around the world.”

Duane has a keen focus on the student experience and a passion for nurturing the next generation of marketing professionals. This is evident through his work with The Fairmount Project (fairmountproject.com), an innovative internship program that provides students with real-world learning experiences that Duane founded and co-directs. To date, the program has served over 120 students across multiple different industries.

Since becoming chair of the department of marketing in summer 2022, Nagel has led and accomplished a number of key initiatives. These include the formation of a new industry advisory board comprised of 15 marketing leaders, and a full revision of the undergraduate marketing major curriculum that led to significant increase in enrollments.

“Duane has a keen focus on developing industry-aligned innovative programs, impactful student experience and a passion for nurturing the next generation of business leaders,” said Dr. Larisa Genin, Dean of the Barton School. “As marketing chair and founder of The Fairmount Project, Duane has served hundreds of students across multiple different industries. We look forward to him continuing this work as the Director of EMBA and MBA Programs..”

For more information on the Barton School, visit www.wichita.edu/academics/business/.