DATE: March 10, 2008

CONTACT: Gail DePriest, (864) 915-9900
gdeprie@clemson.edu

CONTACT: Jani Spede, (864) 656-2591
jspede@clemson.edu

WRITER: Teresa C. Hopkins, (864) 656-1222
hopkin1@clemson.edu

WRITER: Amanda Brock, (864) 656-5970
brock4@clemson.edu

DePriest and Spede appointed Clemson MBA interim directors

CLEMSON – Gail DePriest and Jani Spede have been appointed interim directors of the MBA program at Clemson University.

DePriest, former director of corporate relations for the MBA program, will direct efforts for working professionals at the University Center in Greenville. Spede will oversee the full-time MBA operations on the Clemson campus. She previously served as director of career development.

“We welcome Gail and Jani to their new positions and are pleased to be able to leverage their extensive backgrounds in leadership to help make our MBA program more competitive,” said Claude Lilly, dean of the College of Business and Behavioral Science. “The program will play a central role as we strive toward improving our rank among the top business schools. We are excited to bring this new strategic focus to the Clemson MBA program.”

DePriest and Spede are charged with developing growth strategies to strengthen the quality and reach of the Clemson MBA program, with the goal of improving the rankings and supporting the mission to be a top business school.

“I am very pleased to be part of this team as the bar is raised yet again for the Clemson MBA program,” DePriest said. “Our highly interactive program allows students to take away practical business solutions for immediate application at work. Working professionals in our evening MBA program gain the knowledge they need for a hypercompetitive global marketplace while establishing a solid business network for a lifetime.”  

DePriest brings more than 15 years experience in leadership consulting and strategic management. Having served as senior vice president and corporate director for a global human capital-consulting firm, she has advised Fortune 500 companies and top-ranked graduate programs, including New York University, Yale University and Duke University. In private practice, DePriest has worked with various corporations coaching leaders for top performance, executive assimilation and management excellence. DePriest is a certified executive coach with an master's in counseling and a bachelor's in management. She recently completed the Riley Institute’s Diversity Leadership Academy at Furman University.

Spede has 13 years of leadership experience, specializing in early-stage business development, marketing and strategic planning.

“As corporations demand MBA candidates who are stronger critical thinkers, better strategists and more competitive global leaders, I am confident that, with the talent and deep expertise in Clemson’s College of Business and Behavioral Science, we are uniquely poised to succeed,” Spede said. “I am delighted to have the opportunity to further focus our strategies on attracting outstanding, diverse MBA candidates, preparing them to lead in an increasingly global marketplace.”

As a consultant, Spede has developed marketing strategies for start-up and major multinational companies. Serving as senior vice president of Hoover’s Inc., Spede brought rapid growth and profitability to the company, developed key strategic alliances, and helped lead the company through its initial public offering. At the University of Florida, Spede developed communications strategies and edited award-winning publications. She earned a bachelor's in English, with honors, from Ball State University and attended graduate school at the University of Florida, studying English and critical theory. She recently was selected as an advisory board member for Collexis Holdings Inc.

About the Clemson MBA program

As the largest graduate program in Clemson University’s College of Business and Behavioral Science, the Clemson MBA program ranks in the top 20 percent of AACSB International-accredited programs nationwide, as ranked by U.S.News & World Report.

The innovative program prepares business professionals for senior-level management positions in the global marketplace. Whether enrolled in the full-time, on-campus program (typically completed in 18-24 months) or the flexible, part-time working professionals program (offered in the evenings in Greenville), Clemson MBA professionals gain an analytical, theoretical, strategic and real-world perspective on leading businesses. Classes are taught in-person, creating an engaging environment in which to learn among a diverse, team-like class culture.

Uniquely, about 50 percent of MBA candidates in the full-time program are awarded graduate assistantships, many of which include the opportunity to serve as business-opportunity analysts and work on an array of projects for inventors, entrepreneurs and established businesses.

Numerous dual-degree options also are available, as are study-abroad programs in Belgium, China and Italy.

For more information about the Clemson MBA, visit www.clemson.edu/mba.