School of Management 2026 Letter

The momentum continues within the School of Management! As we are looking to launch a new academic year in September, I am excited to share the following highlights from 2025-26 with you. 

Inside the Classroom:  

• Our programs had more than 130 students complete their capstone and final research projects and presentations during the end of the semester. These projects continued to span the areas of business management and entrepreneurial endeavors, computer information systems products and solutions that address current industry needs, detailed construction services proposals for vertical and horizontal build projects, as well as asset development and management proposals for the commercial real estate and facilities management sectors of industry. Collectively, these capstone presentations engaged over 40 industry professionals, through guest lectures, mentorship, panel review and audience attendance. It was great to see that many of these industry professionals were Wentworth alumni that were excited to give back to programs within the School of Management! 
• Continuing the success of our study abroad semester, 5 students took advantage of the opportunity to study at our partner school in Waterford, Ireland. While these students successfully completed their senior spring semester immersed in the Irish culture, they were also provided with the opportunity to travel to construction site locations across Europe, including Amsterdam, and other sections of the Netherlands, as well as Belgium and England.  
• Our students continue to be highlighted across the nation for their pursuit of academic excellence. This is showcased by the over $50,000 (collectively) in scholarship awards provided by organizations such as The Moles, CMAA and AGC. The focus on student support, success and preparedness that guide School of Management faculty enables these amazing opportunities for our excelling students! 
• Our numbers are strong! Continued efforts to actively engage and recruit students is showcased in our increasing program numbers, where we have seen over a 9% increase in undergraduate student enrollments within our school’s academic portfolio of programs. We look forward to welcoming this cohort of students this coming fall semester! Additionally, with the increased interest in our minor of study offerings, our core courses have seen an additional 10%+ enrollment, including our cybersecurity management minor of study headed by Professor Rick Trilling. 
• Academic honor societies celebrate academic achievement. To that end, Wentworth Institute of Technology’s Sigma Beta Delta International Honor Society in Business Management and Administration, led by faculty member Hossein Noorian, inducted 7 high performing students, and one honorary Wentworth School of Management team member, Visiting Faculty Member, Arlene Marcus. Additionally, Wentworth Institute of Technology’s Omicron IV Chapter of Sigma Lambda Chi International Construction Management Honor Society inducted 26 students, alongside three Industry Professionals as Honorary Members, Lucianna Burdi, Joseph Marie, and Daniel Ramos. Two of our Construction Management Faculty were also inducted as Honorary Members, Associate Professors Sharon Brown and Hari Naganathan. 

• Hands-on, experiential learning is critical to the success of our programs. To help facilitate these opportunities, students engaged in multiple site visits throughout the year. A few exciting sites that were toured include the Gateway Hudson Tunnel Project (infrastructure), the American Repertory Theater project (mass timber) and the Amtrak Southampton Yard Expansion Project (infrastructure and vertical construction). These visits, led by Construction Management Programs Administrator Mike D’Agostino and faculty members Farnaz Jafari and Kushagra Varma, respectively, enable the ability for real-world experiences to help ground classroom content. 

Outside the Classroom:  

• The Sweeney Programs of Construction Management engaged in hosting student summit events for regional AGC and CMAA student chapters, a facilities tour of our CEIS building for the AFE Organization, the Moles Students Day New England (bringing over 350 attendees from 18 universities to Wentworth’s campus), as well as the CMAA New England Chapter four-part Breakfast and Learn Series tied to Artificial Intelligence in the construction industry. 
• High-profile guest speakers were engaged in a series of “Dean’s Panel” presentations and discussions throughout the academic year, including John Dalton who presented the current state of the Gateway Hudson Tunnel Project. 
• Students involved with the Construction Management Club set a recognition record within the New England area by winning two awards at the Canstruction Boston competition event: People’s Choice Award and Social Media Soup-er Star. 
• Following formal award of specialized accreditation for the Business Management Program and the appointment of faculty member Santiago Umaschi as secretary, the business management team hosted its first International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE) Region 1 Conference, where it engaged with peer institutions from around New England here on Wentworth’s campus. 
• Recognizing the importance of lifelong education and early exposure to careers in the built environment, the Sweeney Programs of Construction Management teamed up with the Boston Children’s Museum in support of its cutting-edge exhibit: Dream it Build It!. 

Faculty Expertise Around the Globe:  

• Construction Management Programs Administrator, Mike D’Agostino, was recognized by the profession through his receipt of the inaugural CMAA-NE Educator of the Year Award.  
• Faculty member, Hari Naganathan, was appointed as the inaugural Provost’s Faculty Fellow for Teaching and Learning Innovation. In this role and in collaboration with the Advancing Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship (ATLAS) Center, he has begun work to build support structures and regular, best practice workshops tied to faculty innovation in the classroom and focused programming around the use of artificial intelligence for education professionals.  
• The Sweeney Programs of Construction Management was nationally recognized at the most recent National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Student Chapters Awards Ceremony, as a recipient of a National Housing Endowment’s Homebuilding Education Leadership Program (HELP) grant. The grant proposal was led by faculty members Payam Bakhshi and Monica Snow. 
• As mass timber becomes more prevalent in the built environment, exposure to the material and means/methods of construction is increasingly important. To that end, faculty member, Farnaz Jafari, was able to secure a grant to procure a Rothoblaas SCHOOL HOUSE educational display for use in hands-on learning laboratories focused on cross-laminated timber (CLT). Furthering the ability to foster an environment of hands-on and interactive learning, faculty member, Sharon Brown, collaborated with Central Ceilings and TG Gallagher (members of the Wentworth Construction Management Industry Advisory Board), to develop, build and install an interactive plumbing lab for introductory building systems coursework.  
• The School of Management is proud to have had a dozen faculty members highlighted at the annual Academic Excellence Showcase, where they were able to present scholarly work internal to the Wentworth community. Among these collective faculty were Professor Cristina Cosma who highlighted Construction 4.0 Technologies for application in educational contexts, and faculty member Farzam Maleki who led a collaborative study tied to enhancing plan reading skills for construction management students. In addition to faculty experts, two undergraduate students enrolled in School of Management programs of study were highlighted for their semester-long research during the event. An exciting feature of this event was the launch of faculty members Santiago Umaschi and Michael Mozill’s “Mind Your Business” podcast! 
• School of Management faculty and team members were recognized throughout the academic year at the regional, national and international levels for teaching and scholarship. Among these, were invited presentations to the IACBE Annual Conference and Assembly Meeting, the ASC Applied AI for Construction Faculty Symposium, EDULEARN26 in Spain, the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Annual Conference and Exposition, among others.  Furthermore, faculty member, Hollis Greenberg, was promoted to the rank of professor, highlighting her expertise and recognition within the discipline of Computer Information Systems. Internally, faculty member, Sharon Brown, was the recipient of a Bistline Grant, tied to a project titled “AI Prompt Library and Video-Supported Workflows for Construction Project Management.” 
• Continuing student participation in academic competitions and research endeavors, faculty members Payam Bakhshi and Afshin Pourmokhtarian successfully mentored a team of undergraduate Construction Management students to a third-place finish at this year’s American Institute of Constructors (AIC) Collegiate Ethics Competition. Additionally, Professor Hollis Greenberg engaged an undergraduate student in presenting a poster at the most recent Consortium for Computing in Schools and Colleges Northeast Regional Conference. 

Curricular Efforts & Updates:  

• The School of Management is proud to have officially been awarded and received recognition for successful IACBE specialized accreditation for the Business Management Program during this year’s conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. Continuing with this effort, the Computer Information Systems Program has been officially granted a fast-track approval process for accreditation review with the IACBE organization. Furthermore, the online Bachelor of Science in Project Management and Master of Science in Project Management successfully navigated the self-study and site visit process for accreditation with the Project Management Institute’s Global Accreditation Center for Project Management Education Programs and secured 6 years of accreditation for both the Bachelor of Science in Project Management and the Master of Science in Project Management Programs. 
• Highlighting the collective faculty efforts to support academic excellence and curricular continuous improvement, School of Management academic programs were recognized throughout the year in national rankings, as follows: 
• #1 Construction Management Program in the Country – CollegeRaptor 
• #8 Project Management Program in the Country – CollegeRaptor 
• #130 in Best Online Master’s in Business Programs (non-MBA) for the graduate Project Management Program – U.S. News & World Report (inaugural showing on the list) 
• #244 in Best Online Bachelor’s Programs for the undergraduate Project Management Program – U.S. News & World Report (inaugural showing on the list) 
• Several new academic programs were developed and are set to officially launch or grow in numbers this fall. These include the Construction Management and Business Management knowledge domains within the cutting-edge Bachelor of Science in Applied Artificial Intelligence, the collaborative dual-degree offering with the School of Architecture and Design tied to the Master of Architecture and Master of Science in Construction Management programs, and the joint undergraduate Building Sciences program. 
• Building on the success of the partnership with South East Technical University (SETU) Waterford, expansion of the program now includes the business management programs and students are being actively recruited for our first cohort within this offering.  

It’s an exciting time of the year, as we are continuing planning efforts for a strong upcoming 2026-2027 academic year. As our portfolio of academic programs and enrollments continues to grow, so does our team! I would like to officially congratulate Leah Schwanke on her promotion to the newly formed position of Program Administrator, Business Management Programs, as well as our new hire, Hope Myles, as the School of Management Academic Coordinator. Additionally, faculty member Farnaz Jafari now joins us in her new role as the first, dedicated Sweeney Professor of Construction Management, and Arthur Lever joins the Management Programs this fall, in the capacity of lecturer. 

As always, I would like to thank the entire School of Management faculty for continuing to focus on student support, success and academic excellence. Additionally, I would like to reiterate a continued note of thanks to all School of Management administrators and staff members for continuing support efforts, behind the scenes, as this work enables these excellent results and achievements for our collective programs, the school, and the institute-at-large. 

I look forward to continuing to provide updates and announcements regarding our team efforts and successes, as we continue the momentum that has been the result of hard work and focus over the last few academic years. 

Thanks! 

John Cribbs, Ph.D., CDT, LEED AP  
Dean, School of Management